Blackcurrants could cease to be a fruit exclusively for juices and jams. Researchers at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland have received a five-year grant to develop varieties of the berry that are suitable for fresh consumption. According FreshFruitPortal, the team is carrying out the investigation in partnership with Winterwood Farms.
Although they are recognized for their high levels of vitamin C, antioxidants, and other nutrients, fresh blackcurrants rarely reach British supermarkets, as they’re almost entirely destined for the processing industry.
The initiative will use gene editing to enhance the fruit and make it more suitable for retail.
Also see: Ukraine’s superfood – new excellent blackcurrant varieties developed by local breeders
The research will focus on developing new varieties with a series of desirable qualities, including enhanced sweetness, increased size, and improved post-harvest shelf life. The team is also aiming to achieve a cultivar with more attractive clusters, greater ease of harvest, increased resistance to pests and diseases, and lower winter chilling requirements to adapt them to climate change scenarios.
“We want shoppers to find blackcurrants on supermarket shelves as a fresh and healthy choice, while ensuring the crop remains resilient for future farming,” said genetic improvement specialist Amanda Moura of the James Hutton Institute.
The project began almost two decades ago, and the current team assures that it is close to achieving a variety that can compete with mass-market fruits such as raspberries or blueberries.
Steve Taylor, Managing Director of Winterwood Farms, underscored the fruit’s potential: “Although many blackcurrant varieties exist around the world, none of them are sweet enough to be consumed in the same way as, say, raspberries and blueberries.”
Blackcurrants have the potential to be a superfood, added the executive, particularly if they were sweet enough to snack on, rather than restricted to cooking and baking.
Winterwood Farms is participating in field trials to ensure that the new selections meet market and consumer demands.
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