The James Hutton Institute is delighted to introduce its newest blackberry variety, Loch Katrine, at this year’s Fruit Focus.
Soft Fruit Breeder, Nikki Jennings, said, “Loch Katrine has remarkable characteristics: superb flavour, consistent shape, size and appearance, little reversions after cold storage, it picks easily and is thorn-free.”
The Hutton is an internationally renowned research centre whose breeding programme supports the entire Scottish fruit supply chain from growers to marketing organisations and retailers. The soft fruit group works extensively with stakeholders to carry out research proposals to address specific and targeted needs of the sector, using marker-assisted breeding to reduce the time it takes to produce cultivars with the key traits of interest.
It addresses challenges facing the industry, including improved means for pest and disease control that are in line with increasing demand for reduced pesticide use in agriculture, resistance to climate change and new cultivars that enable growers to respond quickly to a changing marketplace.
Soft fruit production in Scotland represents a small but growing sector within the agricultural landscape, supplying high-value fresh and processing markets throughout the UK. Scottish fruit is at the upper end of the quality market and has considerable potential for economic growth, wealth creation and increased employment.
The Hutton will join over 100 product and service providers from the fresh fruit sector and wine making/viticulture connecting with an expected 1,500 visitors to Fruit Focus 2025 on 9th July at the National Institute of Agricultural Biology (NIAB) in
