Scottish scientists have joined a consortium including Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany with the goal of securing the long term future of the soft fruit industry.

The project, called ClimaFruit, has a budget of six million euros or about £5.2 million. The funding is a 50/50 split between the partner nations and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

SCRI in Invergowrie, Scotland’s leading centre for crop research, is taking the lead role for the UK. SCRI and its commercial subsidiary, Mylnefield Research Services Ltd., have a proven track record in soft fruit research and breeding. The ‘Glen Ample’ raspberry bred at SCRI is the most popular in the UK. Fifty percent of the world’s blackcurrant varieties were also bred in Invergowrie.

The partners will focus their research on blackcurrants, raspberries and blackberries.

The project, which runs for four years, has several key targets:

• to find ways of reducing chemical use and the carbon footprint of horticultural production systems.
• to provide long term economical and ecological solutions for the best use of water, nutrients and chemicals.
• to secure the production of locally grown fruit, providing fresh healthy food products and natural ingredients for foods with reduced chemical residues.
• to develop strategies for the berry industry securing its future in times of threat from climate change.

There are other hoped-for benefits. These include the creation of new businesses that contribute to local economies and step up production of both fresh and processed berry products.

The ambition is also to create a world-leading berry fruit team focussed on delivering sustainable and healthy solutions.

The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead said: "Scientific research is hugely important to our rural industries, our drive to grow the food and drink sector and our efforts to tackle global issues such as climate change and food security.”

“The Scottish Government supports SCRI in its ambitions to secure the long-term future of the soft fruit industry, reduce its environmental impact and encourage greater production of locally grown, natural healthy fruits.”

"Scottish science is already renowned worldwide and by SCRI joining this international consortium, it will further enhance its reputation for excellence. It will also provide a valuable boost to Scottish soft fruit production which is a major contributor to the agricultural sector.”

SCRI’s lead scientist, Dr Derek Stewart, runs the Plant Products and Food Quality programme at the Invergowrie research centre. He said: “Our role in the ClimaFruit project is recognition that SCRI is the lead organisation in the UK for 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.”

Notes to editors

Today, Wednesday 17 February, the latest developments in the Scottish raspberry breeding programme are being discussed at a meeting organised by the Scottish Society for Crop Research (SSCR) being held at SCRI. The meeting – open to SSCR members and the media – starts at 13.30.

• Project partners are Aarhus University, Denmark; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden; Bioforsk, Norway; Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway and Scottish Crop Research Institute, Scotland and LWK Niedersachsen Fruit Research Institute, Germany.
• The Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate (RERAD) invests more than £13 million annually in the work of SCRI, as part of overall funding to its main research providers through the current research strategy.
• Soft fruit production in Scotland represents a valuable sector within the agricultural/horticultural landscape, occupying a total of 1649 ha in 2007 of which around 810 ha are raspberries (Rubus) and blackcurrants (Ribes). The value of these crops in Scotland is around £12 m annually for raspberry and around £0.79 m for blackcurrant, although the latter value rises to an added value of over £200 m within the UK blackcurrant processing crop. The addition of new crops such as blueberries (Vaccinium) has clear potential to strengthen Scotland’s position in this sector, due to their perceived health benefits and the crop timing in a global context.
• Over 70% of UK soft fruit is grown under polythene covers, extending the season from March to October in the Tayside area. The covers give greater consistency of product across a longer season, besides protecting the crop from adverse weather. However, there is emerging evidence that longer cropping seasons can provide `green bridges’ for pest and disease organisms, leading to increased potential problems for growers in the future.
• The unique genetic resources at SCRI are being utilised to produce enhanced germplasm with increased nutritional value and higher levels of durable resistance to damaging pests and pathogens, through the use of advanced genetics and genomics techniques. This germplasm is then taken on to new varieties of raspberry, blackberry and blackcurrant through commercial partnerships.
• SCRI varieties have achieved significant commercial success, through the `Glen’ raspberries and `Ben’ blackcurrants especially. `Glen Ample’ is currently the most widely-grown raspberry in the UK, `Glen Lyon’ is the mainstay of the Spanish industry and the `Ben’ blackcurrants account for ca. 98% of the UK crop and ca. 50% of the global crop.
• SCRI’s fruit research also impacts on human health through collaborations between Dr Derek Stewart’s team and internationally renowned biomedical researchers and clinicians in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and others.

More information from:

Phil Taylor, Head of Communications, SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA. Tel: 01382 560044 (direct line), Mobile: 07810 860 701 or

Lorraine Wakefield, Information and Online Service Officer, SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA. Tel: 01382 560047 (direct line) or 562731 (switchboard).