SCRI has launched the latest Scottish raspberry which is likely to start appearing in supermarkets and shops around the UK during the next twelve months.

At the Fruit for the Future event for the soft fruit industry SCRI's top breeders introduced genotype 9062E-1, or to give the berry its family name, Glen Fyne.

It joins the ranks of well-known SCRI-bred berries including Glen Ample, Glen Lyon, Glen Doll and Glen Clova (all the Invergowrie raspberries are named after Scottish glens).

The project was the work of SCRI's commercial subsidiary, Mylnefield Research Services (MRS) also based at Invergowrie. The contract to develop Glen Fyne was handled by MRS which will also handle licensing and the protection of intellectual property rights. Traditional soft-fruit breeding techniques were used throughout.

Sweet and Aromatic

The experts say Glen Fyne has a sweet and aromatic raspberry flavour which is consistent throughout the season. The fruit is bright red and attractive, slightly conical in shape and berries are firm with a shelf life as long as the Glen Ample raspberries which are currently stacked up on most retail fruit displays.

SCRI's Chief Executive and Institute Director, Professor Peter Gregory said: "The launch of this latest variety by SCRI and Mylnefield Research Services demonstrates that our partnerships result in products that the public wish to buy and which contribute significantly to the Scottish and UK economy. Through these products, knowledge and innovation generated in Scotland reach a global market and Scotland's reputation for biotechnology is enhanced."

The cultivar is from a breeding programme funded by the Scottish Raspberry Breeding Consortium. It is made up of members from the UK raspberry industry with additional funding from the Horticultural Development Fund and the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment department (RERAD). All the MRS/SCRI berries are produced using traditional breeding techniques.

New Breeding Technologies

This year's Fruit for the Future was the busiest for several years. The annual event offers farmers, growers and enthusiasts the chance to attend seminars and tour fruit in the field.

This year’s topics included the future of UK soft fruit breeding including climate change and new, breeding technologies.

Two days earlier SCRI hosted Cereal Solutions, the annual event showcasing the applied field research on cereals that is undertaken at the research institute. It's supported by the HGCA.

Cereal Solutions takes place at SCRI’s Gourdie Farm at Liff near Dundee. One of the attractions this year was a demonstration of barley-bread making. SCRI scientists are part of a major EU consortium to increase the nutrition value of bread.

Barley Bread

The major ingredient of bread is wheat and, although it delivers many essential nutrients, the scientists at SCRI believe that bread can be made more nutritious by incorporating barley.

Barley is one of the few plant materials that, when incorporated into foodstuffs, can legally be claimed to impact beneficially on health. In 2005 the Food and Drink Administration in the USA said that “whole grain barley and barley-containing products are allowed to claim that they reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

Cereal Solutions provides farmers and those in the related industries information about how developing weed-competitive varieties and growing mixtures can reduce risk in crop production. There are also opportunities for field walks looking at wheat and barley trials with current and candidate varieties for the CEL recommended lists being amongst the demonstrations.

The event is also strongly supported by the Scottish Society for Crop Research and SAC.