Berry Grow

The soft-fruit industry has changed almost beyond recognition over the past 20 years, with average yields of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries increasing 172%, 98% and 118% per ha respectively between 2000 and 2019, driven primarily by the switch to soil-less (substrate) protected cultivation. The sector is valued at £2.2bn annually with year-on-year volume growth of 7% between 2014-2018 (DEFRA Horticultural Statistics), strawberry being the major crop (£1.6bn). Availability of coir substrate is likely to become a major constraint in soft fruit production due to rising costs, transport costs and competition for supply. This project aims to demonstrate how a range of soft fruit crops grow and suppress disease in a sustainable UK produced supplemented substrate. Unlike Coir which holds excess moisture around the root zone creating over watering conditions which favour root pathogen infection and spread, this substrate has excellent water management capacity, supporting the industry need to reduce water use, fertiliser use and leaching; improving local water quality and helping to reduce its environmental footprint towards a more sustainable growing media.