Fruit

So far unavailable to growers due to high costs, sterile insect technique, an effective and chemical-free method for controlling spotted wing drosophila (SWD), will be launched commercially in 2023 by insect control solutions company BigSis.

Field trials have shown that using ProBandz, a new food bait adjuvant for spotted wing drosophila (SWD) control, is significantly more cost-effective than full foliar sprays while being harmless to pollinators and other beneficial insects.

Canopy is a juicy and crisp apple with a complex flavour profile that not only rivals Granny Smith, but its resistance to scab makes it a better alternative for growers, the variety’s breeder Dalival has claimed.

Keen to help businesses in the fight towards net zero, the innovation hub Growing Kent & Medway (GKM) is offering a number of funding opportunities to horticultural, food and drink enterprises wanting to take sustainability to the next level.

Defra is inviting growers, businesses and researchers to apply for a share of the £12.5 million funding, for projects focused on cutting-edge innovations to boost productivity, reduce labour demands and create more sustainable practices.

The findings of recent trials led by NIAB research assistant Adam Walker indicate commercial volatiles are effective at attracting and retaining aphid-feeding hoverflies in soft fruit crops and can be used to improve integrated pest management practices.

Contrary to the current grower practice of monitoring pest thrips with below tabletop traps, placing the traps level with or slightly above the strawberry crop significantly improves their effectiveness, sensitivity, and value to growers, NIAB research has shown.

The retail sale of peat in horticulture will end in Wales, Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has announced.

A new science-based strawberry forecasting tool called BerryPredictor is in the last stages of development at NIAB’s WET Centre and is expected to launch on the market by 2024.

At the 2022 NIAB Soft Fruit Day technical webinar, WET Centre operations manager Trevor Wignall outlined the benefits of efficient water use in strawberry crops and shared details of successful research into precision irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems.

With labour shortages being a constant battle with UK growers, Kirkland UK says it has researched and sourced the ideal machinery solutions for this seemingly perpetual problem.

Soaring energy costs combined with a continued lack of people to pick crops are posing a serious threat to the future of the UK’s fruit and vegetable industry, the NFU said today (15th November), as it reiterated the need for access to affordable energy and a skilled and secure workforce.