Fruit for the Future 2020: programme announced
The programme for Fruit for the Future 2020, the James Hutton Institute’s long-running soft fruit themed industry event, has been announced. Usually a well-attended physical gathering, this year FFF is going virtual with a week’s worth of online updates from each of the soft fruit breeding programmes: raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, blackberries and the all-new honeyberries, with a Q&A session with Hutton soft fruit experts.
The challenges of 2020 have been more significant than anyone could have imagined. COVID-19 and Brexit have layered new levels of complexity on growers, coming on top of existing legislative pressures and net-zero and sustainable production targets to address climate and biodiversity crises.
As in previous years, Fruit for the Future 2020 will pull together farmers, agronomists, representatives of the food and drink industries, researchers and others interested in soft fruit. Starting on Monday 24th August, the programme will include:
Monday 24th August
- Introduction from Dr Jonathan Snape, Head of James Hutton Limited, and Peter Thomson, chair of the Scottish Society for Crop Research (SSCR) Soft Fruit Committee (10:00 am)
- Raspberry Breeding Programme updates, by Nikki Jennings, James Hutton Limited (10:30 am)
Tuesday 25th
- Climate-resilient blackcurrants - the past, now and into the future, Dr Dorota Jarret, James Hutton Limited (10:00 am)
- Spotted Wing Drosophila Monitoring Project (10:30 am)
Wednesday 26th
- Blueberry breeding: how to turn data into decisions, Dr Susan McCallum, James Hutton Institute (10:00 am)
- CherryBerry: investigating the occurrence of ‘June drop’ in cherries and poor bud initiation in blueberries (10:30 am)
Thursday 27th
- Update on blackberry breeding, Nikki Jennings, James Hutton Limited (10:00 am)
- Sowing the seeds for speed breeding in vertical farms with Liberty Produce and the James Hutton Institute (10:30 am)
Friday 28th
- An introduction to the honeyberry, Dr Louise Gamble, James Hutton Limited (10:00 am)
- Webinar: Vertically farmed berries - the future of germination and beyond, Dylan Banks, Liberty Produce (1:30 pm)
- Q&A session (2:00 pm)
Registration is now open and delegates will be able to claim three BASIS and two NRoSo points; email events@hutton.ac.uk to book your place and receive details on how to join, stating your BASIS/NRoSo numbers if you wish to claim points. Fruit for the Future is presented by the James Hutton Institute and the Scottish Society for Crop Research (SSCR).
Press and media enquiries:
Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, James Hutton Institute, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 (mobile).