Sed ut perspiciatis unde. “Strawberries are the fastest growing fruit crop, with year-round demand exceeding supply. In fact, strawberries are the category leaders in the produce aisle, accounting for more than 23 percent of fresh fruit sales,” said Inci Dannenberg, Head of Bayer’s Vegetables business. The company has just announced that it is to acquire NIAB’s Strawberry Breeding Programme to complement its biological and chemical crop protection products.NIAB’s Strawberry Breeding Programme has been operating for more than 40 years. By using a combination of traditional techniques and genomics-assisted breeding, it has supported the development of disease resistant, high quality varieties ensuring improved yield, fruit size and quality. Over 45 varieties have been produced, including the phenomenally successful strawberry Malling™ Centenary, which was chosen to mark the 100th anniversary of the research station in 2013.Mario Caccamo, CEO of NIAB, comments: “NIAB at East Malling has built a strong foundation in strawberries, supported by more than a century of world-class horticulture research at our Kent site, and we’re proud that it will continue with Bayer.“As well as bringing accelerated innovation to UK growers, Bayer will also make these great tasting strawberries available to more growers and consumers around the world.”Bayer is expanding its focus on serving professional protected culture growers to meet the increasing consumer and retail demand for high-quality, year-round strawberries. These premium strawberry varieties will also be available for open field conditions.Inci Dannenberg continues: “With Bayer entering the strawberry market, we will offer growers premium genetics combined with innovative crop protection products and digital solutions. The addition of strawberries to Bayer’s portfolio is a natural progression that many of our customers are making as well.”Protected cropping offers strawberry growers enhanced control over their growing environment, crop management, and disease and pest control. This results in improved fruit quality, harvest security, and consistency. Additionally, plants grown under protection use less water than open field crops and have the potential for increased retail shelf life as they can be grown closer to the consumer.Bayer remains dedicated to providing the advancements sought by consumers, retailers, and growers through its breeding technologies. JD Rossouw, Head of Vegetables Research & Development at Bayer’s Crop Science Division, emphasised their commitment to advancing strawberry breeding technologies, saying: “We have built a strong foundation in precision breeding capabilities and look forward to bringing these approaches into strawberries. Using these techniques will enable us to continue to advance on the foundation set by NIAB and deliver superior strawberries to our growers and the value chain.”Source link Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data. * Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Tech dedicated news site to equip you with all tech related stuff.I agree that my submitted data is being collected and stored.✉️ Send us an emailTechToday © 2023. All Rights Reserved.TechToday.co is a technology blog and review site specializing in providing in-depth insights into the latest news and trends in the technology sector.TechToday © 2023. All Rights Reserved.Be the first to know the latest updatesI agree that my submitted data is being collected and stored.