Is the rise in popularity down to the increase in health awareness or is also to do with the year round availability and better varieties on the market now.
The raspberry is a very up and coming fruit, so what has changed in the breeding and growing processes over the last few years?
Radiance and Grandeur were the first primocane raspberry varieties introduced to the UK from the North American based Plant Sciences Inc. (PSI) breeding programme in 2009. Since then raspberry supply and development has gone from strength to strength. Seven years on and the industry takes the quality that these varieties provide for granted.
"The arrival of Radiance and Grandeur heralded the new bench mark in the shelf-life expectations of a raspberry. No longer were we restrained by soft berries, darkening fruit and juice in punnets," explains Lindrea Latham from Total Worldfresh.
"These varieties gave growers the options of picking fruit every other day rather than daily and a guaranteed double cropping production system for English growers. Supermarkets benefited by extensions on the best before date and for the consumer it meant that they could enjoy the supply of the same British grown varieties from May until November."
"Plant breeding is a slow and deliberate process where breeders are constantly striving for superior flavor, higher yields, larger fruits, improved fruit quality and better plant agronomy traits," said Steven Nelson, President & CEO, Plant Sciences. "This year, new raspberry selections under trial at the Total Berry Research and Development site, near Langley in Kent, had average berry weights of 6.5g/berry. The raspberry variety Grandeur does not have a small berry size, but in comparison, average berry weights of Grandeur are 3.8g/berry. This extra berry size leads to an expected increase in total yield. The new selections demonstrated potential primocane yields roughly one third greater than those produced from Grandeur. Larger berry size means that picking costs per kilo of fruit can be reduced, resulting in increased returns on investment for growers."
The two most recent primocane raspberry releases from the PSI stable, Ovation and Paragon offer a consistent exquisite flavour eating experience. Testament to this, Paragon scooped the Taste of Kent award for raspberries in 2017. Both varieties will be available in larger commercial volumes in the Spring of 2017 and available in premium ranges in supermarkets.
For more information:
Lindrea Latham
Research and Trials Agronomist – Soft Fruit
Total World Fresh
Tel: +44 1622 864 175
Email: lindrea.latham@totalworldfresh.com