Soft Fruit Production

by Andrew Arbuckle

They used to be considered the Cinderella crops that were grown by a few farmers in some of the kindlier soils in the East of Scotland but there has been a  dramatic rise in the economic  importance of vegetable and soft fruit growing in Scotland.

Last month when the Scottish Government produced output figures for 2009.  These showed the combined output from the raspberry, strawberry, broccoli and cauliflower growers was now almost on a par with the total output from the Scottish sheep industry or the dairy sector.

This underlines the transformation in these crops with husbandry techniques being developed to ensure that Scottish producers benefit
from the current demand for food to be supplied over a lengthy period by the major supermarkets.  Long after the English crops have been harvested in peak season, Scottish fruit and vegetable crops continue to supply the whole of the United Kingdom.

The soft fruit industry in particular has been innovative in developing new varieties and husbandry to maximize the potential for this sector.
At the heart of the research involving soft fruit is the Scottish Crop Research Institute at Invergowrie, which has just announced a number of moves aimed at continuing to keep the industry competitive.           

Blueberries
They have been called ‘nature’s viagra’ but the more substantive claim for blueberries is that they supply more anti oxidants than almost any other fruit.  In this health league, blueberries provide four times the quantity of recognized ‘healthy’ fruits such as bananas and apples.  And that is one reason why over the past two or three years, the acreage of blueberries planted in this country has rocketed.                     

Scottish growers are very much involved in this increase but many of their plantations are not yet at full production.  It takes three years between planting and the crop fruiting anywhere near full yield but last year, in the UK some 765 tonnes of blueberries were harvested.  That is three times the level set in 2008 and almost ten times the 2007 production level.   

Despite the surge in production, it is estimated that currently only 3% of the blueberries that are eaten in this country are home produced.
This could be seen as a tremendous opportunity for expansion but there is one major problem.  That is blueberries travel too well and it is easy for imported produce from countries with low labour costs such as Chile, Mexico and Poland to send fruit into the UK.

Scottish growers have already found it difficult to get a market premium for blueberries grown in this country, so one avenue that is now
being explored is mechanical harvesting of the crop as this will dramatically reduce costs.   

A group of twelve UK growers, fruit processors and major retailers are now funding a five year project at SCRI aimed at raising home     production and part of this is finding a machine that will harvest the berries.

SCRI have been growing blueberries for more than thirty years but it has only been in the past two or three years following increased levels
of interest in healthy eating that the blueberry eating boom has taken off.   

Julie Graham, SCRI said the project would also be looking at which varieties were best suited to be grown in this country.  SCRI were
already collaborating with research stations in both the USA and New Zealand in the sharing of information on germ plasm and the molecular
make up of blueberries.   

The aim is to breed varieties suited to the climate in the UK and SCRI will be looking especially at how they can provide a long harvesting period as that is an essential element in supplying today’s markets.

Raspberries and Blackcurrants
Scottish scientists involved in raspberry breeding will in future collaborate in research with colleagues in other plant research stations
in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany.  The consortium which has a budget of around £5.2 million and which will run for four years will look at ways of reducing chemical use and the carbon footprint of horticultural production systems.  

It will also concentrate on securing the production of locally grown fruit, providing fresh healthy food products and natural ingredients for
foods with reduced chemical residues.  

Fittingly for a project called ClimaFruit, another goal is to develop strategies for the berry industry in order to secure its future in times
of threat from climate change.  

SCRI bred raspberry, Glen Ample is currently the most popular variety
in the UK.                     

The domination of SCRI in the world of blackcurrant growing is evident in that half of all blackcurrants grown around the globe are varieties bred in Invergowrie.

SCRI's lead scientist on the project, Dr Derek Stewart said the Insitute’s role as lead organisation was a recognition of its work in soft fruit research and breeding.  

"A recent external review described the soft fruit team here as "world leaders". To be involved in this North European/North Sea Region
consortium is a huge boost for us.  It's also evidence that Scotland's vital berry industry has got first-rate research and development capability on its doorstep."  

He believed that beyond the scientific benefits, there could also be economic spin offs including the creation of new businesses that would
contribute to local economies and help step up production of both fresh and processed berry products.     

Soft fruit production in Scotland is concentrated on less than 2,000 hectares of land with half of that area being committed to raspberry and
blackcurrant growing.  Most of the raspberry crop is grown under polytunnels in order to extend the harvest period which nowadays can
stretch from May to November.   

Apart from SCRI, the other Climafruit partners are are Aarhus University, Denmark; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
Sweden; Bioforsk, Norway; LWK Niedersachsen Fruit Research Institute, Germany and Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway.  

Meanwhile a new UK Raspberry breeding programme has been established with funding from a number of bodies including the Scottish Government and commercial growers.   

Raspberry breeder at SCRI Nikki Jennings said this five year funding would allow a new generation of varieties to be brought out.  It can take up to fifteen years to bring out a new rasps variety but new molecular marking techniques were helping pin point areas where good and bad
attributes can be included or excluded and that was a tremendous step forward.