Blueberry researchers produce variety suitable for Scottish climate
SCIENTISTS are using new breeding technology that will allow commercially produced blueberries to thrive in the Scottish climate.
The superfood is a key soft fruit line demanded by British supermarkets and is hailed as among the world’s most powerful sources of healthy antioxidants.
But until now the Scottish climate has been too cold and wet for many blueberry varieties with only a handful of fruit farms able produce the valuable crop. Scottish fruit-growing areas are among the last in Britain to reach the perfect average daily temperature.
The perfect temperature is based on a number of accumulated factors based on the mean daily temperature, in degrees C, above zero, starting on January 1.
When that accumulated temperature reaches 200 degrees C it is generally assumed spring has sprung.
The UK has relied heavily on imports while Scottish soft fruit growers have been restricted to the production of traditional berries such as strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants.
But scientists at the government-funded James Hutton Institute, based in Aberdeen and Dundee, say they have now begun to produce new “cultivars” – crossbred blueberry varieties – which are more suited to the Scottish climate and late spring.
Partly as a result, Scotland saw a 10 per cent increase in the quantity of blueberries grown last year.
Dr Julie Graham, who leads the blueberry breeding programme at the institute said: “Cutting-edge plant breeding technology is enabling the James Hutton Institute to develop new cultivars.
“These cultivars, better suited to Scottish conditions, should enable an increase in the home-grown blueberry crop, which will be of benefit to Scottish soft fruit growers.”
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “Traditionally, blueberries are imported to Scotland but this innovative research we are funding is using new technology to develop plants that are more suitable for the Scottish soil and climate as well as helping us to fully understand the health benefits of this fruit.”