Blackcurrants and Redcurrants Breeding
Specialist Ribes breeding for juice production, fresh markets and premium fruit quality
Drawing on more than 60 years of Ribes breeding expertise, we develop blackcurrant and redcurrant varieties for both processing and fresh markets. Our programmes have supported major commercial brands and continue to deliver high-performing varieties tailored to evolving market demands.
Market leading blackcurrants (and soon to be redcurrants)
The Hutton has a proven history in research and development of cultivars for blackcurrants and other Ribes species, contributing to underpin the sustainability of production across blackcurrant cultivation adversities in the UK and worldwide.
The cultivars from this programme are recognisable by the “Ben” prefix, all named after Scottish mountains. It is estimated that 90% of the market share in the UK comes from Hutton cultivars, and the majority of this crop has been used to produce RibenaTM. In addition to the juice processing market, we are aiming to take even more commercial advantages of the powerful nutrition value of these berries. Hutton since 2006 has also bred blackcurrants for the emerging fresh market.
The programmes may differ in their specifics, to meet the industry partner’s needs (e.g. hand-picking vs machine harvesting); however, they address common challenges such as the pressure of pests, pathogens, and the outcomes of climate change. The breeding programmes are great allies of the industry to maintain the sustainability of blackcurrant cultivation in the UK.
Amanda Moura, Soft Fruit Breeder
Hutton’s blackcurrant breeding is one of the world’s largest and accounts for approximately half of the blackcurrants grown globally.
Hutton offers to our breeding partners not only a unique Ribes germplasm – comprising of old varieties and Ribes species- but a multidisciplinary group of researchers and facilities to underpin the breeding programmes with the ability to develop tools to assist breeders in selecting the best blackcurrants. An example of this is the deployment of marker assisted selection for gall-mite resistant germplasm. The PCR-based marker developed by Hutton’s researchers (Brennan, Jorgensen, Gordon et al. 2008) is now deployed routinely to select resistant germplasm. Likewise, the first linkage map of blackcurrant was published by the group in 2008 (Brennan, Jorgensen, Hackett et al. 2008) in which can now be applied to develop markers for complex traits such as dormancy breaking characteristics. With the high demand for the improvement of our crops for climate change resilience, tools such as these play a primordial role on the Ribes Hutton’s breeding programmes path to sustainable agriculture.
References
Brennan, R., Jorgensen, L., Hackett, C., Woodhead, M., Gordon, S.L. and Russell, J. 2008. The development of a genetic linkage map of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) and the identification of regions associated with key fruit quality and agronomic traits. Euphytica 161, 19-34.
Brennan, R., Jorgensen, L., Gordon, S., Loades, K., Hackett, C. and Russell, J. 2008. The development of a PCR-based marker linked to resistance to the blackcurrant gall mite (Cecidophyopsis ribis Acari: Eriophyidae). Theoretical and Applied Genetics 118(2), 205-11.
Blackcurrants bred by James Hutton Institute Scientific Services are widely used in food and drink production, including varieties developed for the well-known cordial brand Ribena.
Breeding programmes focus on improving fruit quality, disease resistance, productivity and suitability for processing or fresh markets. James Hutton Institute Scientific Services develops varieties that meet the needs of growers and food producers.
Blackcurrant varieties developed by James Hutton Institute Scientific Services often reflect their Scottish origins and are traditionally named with the “Ben” prefix, referencing Scottish mountains.
