Scientists at the James Hutton Institute (JHI) in Dundee used their recent Fruit for the Future event to provide an update on the company’s blueberry breeding programme.
According to reports, JHI is working on more than 40 new varieties that will perform north of the border, including one with fruit up to 25mm diameter. Now, after ten years of breeding research, the organisation says it’s close to releasing commercial varieties, after researchers found that blueberries native to North America didn’t produce the same yield or quality when grown in the UK.
Dr Susan McCallum, JHI’s blueberry researcher, commented, ‘We were able to advise [growers] fairly well on what cultivars were most suited to the soil, the conditions, the pH that we had; but it still wasn’t perfect, so we started crossing and breeding our own blueberries. “Large fruit size doesn’t just make it more attractive for consumers, it also makes it easier for pickers. It makes it easier to fill the punnet, it’s a more attractive fruit and tends to be more flavoursome. It’s got to have a good balance of sugar and acid; and it’s got to be firm and have a nice crunch. I think we’re getting there. There’s certainly one front-runner that’s got the yield and plant architecture but also a fantastic fruit size and flavour”.