The 2022 edition of Fruit for the Future, the annual showcase of soft fruit research presented by the James Hutton Institute and the Scottish Society for Crop Research (SSCR), is taking place on Thursday 21st July at the Institute's Dundee site.
Fruit for the Future is one of the Institute’s most successful and long-running industry events, this year attendees will have the opportunity to discover the latest developments from the raspberry and blackberry breeding programmes, work on non-chemical weed solutions and the progress in improving sustainable berry cultivars, amongst many other impactful examples of the Institute’s work.
Dr Susan McCallum, a blueberry breeder at the Institute, will display the work of the BreedingValue project at the event. The project aims to address some of the global challenges currently facing breeding programmes today.
Dr McCallum said: “BreedingValue aims to identify and support the development of new berry varieties better selected for disease resistance, shelf life and flavour. Consumer’s tastes are changing and production costs are increasing so growers need varieties that are productive, have low picking and management costs, good pest and disease tolerance and require reduced inputs
“A greater understanding of plant performance and how these are influenced by genetics and environment can help promote a more sustainable industry by reducing pesticide use, targeting water use efficiency as well as waste reduction.”
Fruit for the Future is aimed at farmers, agronomists, representatives of the food and drink industries, scientists and others interested in soft fruit. This year’s event will also follow its traditional format of 'fruit walks' around the Institute’s experimental plots.
Dr Joanne Russell, SSCR honorary secretary, added: “We are proud to support Fruit for the Future as the event provides an exceptional platform to ensure that soft fruit researchers and industry are fully aligned.”
The event is free to attend, but pre-registration is essential. Book your place at bit.ly/HuttonFFF22 [1]. Two BASIS points will be available to delegates.
Notes for editors
This year, the programme of Fruit for the Future includes:
Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo [2], Media Manager, James Hutton Institute, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 [3] (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 [4] (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 [5] (mobile).
Links:
[1] https://bit.ly/HuttonFFF21
[2] mailto:bernardo.rodriguez-salcedo@hutton.ac.uk?subject=Query%20from%20Hutton%20website
[3] tel:+441224395089
[4] tel:+44344928 5428
[5] tel:+447791193918