After four and a half years of research, the European project BreedingValue has ended in success, providing new tools, data, and knowledge to ensure that strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries remain resilient, sustainable, and attractive to consumers across Europe.
"Berries are among the most vulnerable crops to climate change," says Bruno Mezzetti, coordinator of BreedingValue. "Our project provides breeders with resources to create berry varieties that are both climate resilient and consumer-friendly, making sure that high-quality fruits remain accessible at a sustainable cost."
© Cristiano Riciputi | HortiDaily.comProfessor Bruno Mezzetti
In 2021, the BreedingValue consortium set out to develop new breeding strategies for resilient, high-quality berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries) while ensuring genetic diversity and responding to consumer preferences in terms of quality and sensory appeal. The aim was to shape sustainable and competitive berry production across Europe, addressing the need for new cultivation systems and high-quality products due to the current challenges of environmental protection and climate change.
The BreedingValue consortium, which gathers 20 partner organisations and 10 external collaborators involved through Open Calls, studied an unprecedented variety of genetic material. More than 1,500 strawberry populations and nearly 100 raspberry and blueberry populations have been characterised using new advanced genotyping technologies and new phenotyping tools to enable breeders to identify resilient traits, improve fruit quality, and accelerate the development of climate-resilient varieties.
"An innovative breeding strategy was developed, integrating genomic, metabolomic, and sensory analyses to identify genetic resources related to plant resilience and fruit quality. These resources were assessed for their pre-breeding and commercial potential, using new genotyping and phenotyping tools created within the project."
"Key outcomes of the project include the creation of harmonised sensory methodologies and multilingual lexicons, enabling breeders to better align berry hybridisation and selection with consumer expectations. Life-Cycle Assessment studies on 26 strawberry and raspberry field trials have shown that both representative cultivars and promising advanced selections can adapt well to more sustainable farming systems. The advanced genomic and phenotyping tools generated in the project also promote sustainable hybridisation and transfer practical innovations to European breeding companies."
Photos of the BreedingValue project provided by Professor Bruno Mezzetti
The results generated within the BreedingValue project have laid the foundations for a revolutionary online database dedicated to strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. The Berry Database, which can be found on the Germinate platform, is designed to support researchers, breeders, and enthusiasts by providing a wealth of information that is fundamental to advancing berry science. Around 20 pre-breeding accessions have been registered on the EURISCO platform and are publicly accessible.
Mezzetti concludes: "In addition, four new cultivars - one raspberry and three strawberries - have been registered on the CPVO system, complemented by the patenting of a seed germination method. Based on the results of the project, the BreedingValue consortium calls on the European Union to ensure the continued priority of berry crop research by supporting the conservation of genetic resources and advanced breeding strategies. Without continued investment, Europe risks losing control of its berry production chain and becoming increasingly dependent on non-EU companies."
For more information
https://breedingvalue.eu
