Strawberry Breeding Programme acquired by Bayer

“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 . The company has just announced that it is to acquire NIAB’s Strawberry Breeding Programme to complement its biological and chemical crop protection products.

Phenomenally successful strawberries

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 Malling has built a strong foundation in strawberries, supported by more than a century of -class horticulture research at our site, and we’re proud that it will continue with Bayer.

“As well as bringing accelerated to UK , Bayer will also make these great tasting strawberries available to more growers and consumers around the world.”

Mario Caccamo
Mario Caccamo
strawberries

Combining premium genetics with innovative crop protection

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 field conditions.

Inci Dannenberg continues: “With Bayer entering the strawberry , 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.”

Benefits of protected cropping

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 , 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 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.”

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