We’re supporting the strawberry breeding programme at NIAB EMR, with our premium Precision Plus Ultra (PPU) strawberry bags. We speak to plant breeder, Adam Whitehouse, to find out why planning ahead and good quality growing media are both key to the breeding programme…
It takes on average eight years to bring a new strawberry variety from the original crossing to commercial status, so the team at NIAB EMR has to be planning at least ten years ahead to ensure they are bringing suitable varieties to market.
“We have to be looking closely at trends which will determine what varieties are needed in future,” says Adam.
“Automation is something we have been looking at, and we have to consider if varieties will be suitable for emerging systems such as vertical farming and the rise of LED racks, but we also look at pest and disease resistance closely, and of course, ways to improve efficiency while maintaining high fruit quality.”
Adam explains that efficiency is among the traits that are top of the list, as well as a push towards zero residues. “We have to think about the whole growing cycle, from propagation, planting on, growing on table tops in grow bags – which is how the majority of UK strawberries are grown, harvesting, shelf life, transportation and end-use. And improving efficiency is key.”
NIAB focussed on efficiency with MallingTM Centenary and succeeded in doubling the picking speed and the volume of fruit to be picked, through its breeding programme.
“MallingTM Centenary is an early-mid season June-bearer, typically cropping four days ahead of Elsanta in the UK, and the breeding programme concentrated on extending the truss length so the flower grows well above the foliage, which means that not only are they easier to pollinate, and fruits are easier to pick.
“This trait, combined with its upright plant habit, good fruit display and high % Class 1, allows for rapid harvesting and reduced picking costs.”
The NIAB EMR programmes were government funded originally, but in 2008, when the funding was reduced and eventually withdrawn, the East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club was established. Adam explains that this club has being running for nearly 15 years and involves both public and private industry partners to fund commercial breeding.
“We’re also been very successful to get research grants which all feed into East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club, and without our amazing partners we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” says Adam.
Botanicoir grow bags
The NIAB strawberry breeding team has been working with Botanicoir and Agrovista Fruit for the last two years, to understand what the best substrate is and how to use it successfully. “Botanicoir were pleased to be asked to provide the premium PPU bags for NIAB to help support research and development,” says Mark Davies, Agrovista’s head of fruit.
“The Precision Plus Ultra grow bags have been performing well and our team is on hand to assist the breeding team with any guidance needed.
“We have always been advocates for using top quality, accurately graded, washed and buffered material for commercial substrate grown soft fruit crops. We see the benefits of a healthier root zone from the start, plus we maximise the chance of re use of the material – something we are about to see a lot more of I feel, in addition to more interest in recycling – again, it is critical to start with the correct grade of material in such cases,” says Mark.
“Changing from soil to substrate is quite a leap and for the last two years it’s been a fantastic substrate, producing great results,” says Adam.
“The biggest challenge has been understanding how plants will grow and the care they need. Fertigation and irrigation is unforgiving compared to soil but we have good monitoring systems and we keep on top of it.
“This year we propagated seedlings in coir for the first time, which means we grow 13,000 seedlings and we will get a clear indication of how that’s working next year, but visually, they look better than soil-grown seedlings so far,” he says.
Mark Davies adds: “As so many of our growers are now enjoying the benefits of growing varieties produced by the NIAB EMR programme, it is great to think that the varieties of the future started life in Botanicoir material – what better validation of what we do could we ask for?”
MallingTM Ace and MallingTM Vitality
This summer, two new strawberry varieties were launched by the team at NIAB EMR, led by Adam Whitehouse, and the East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club.
MallingTM Ace is an everbearer that matches the quality of the best June strawberries. It first crops in May with production peaking in August, and concluding in September. “With a potential of 1.5 kg per plant, it could support the development of vertical or urban farming as the industry looks towards novel production systems required in the future,” says Adam.
MallingTM Ace also matches the quality fruit throughout the year that of the best June strawberries, with a high average Brix of 9.2. “Ace stands out because it has a similar flavour to MallingTM Centenary, but will extend the season of production,” he says.
As an early-mid-season June-bearer, MallingTM Vitality when trialled produced an average of 98% of Class 1 fruit and attractive berries with uniform skin colour. It is also recognised by its enhanced disease resistance to crown rot, mildew, and Verticillium wilt. The variety is expected to build on the commercial success of MallingTM Centenary, which was launched in 2013 with more than 70 million plants being sold a year.
“We are continuing to evolve the breeding processes and we need to have our fingers on the pulse to produce the best varieties, most suited to a changing sector. With labour shortages we are seeing, efficiency continues to be important, but we also have to think about new technology and how machine picking, and vertical growing requires different plant traits,” adds Adam.
