Use of microbiome amendments to improve propagation efficiency, cultivation sustainability, productivity and resilience in the Kent and Medway raspberry industry

The raspberry industry in Kent and Medway uniquely comprises the whole value chain, from breeding through to production and sales, and the allied industries that support it. This project aims to increase the resilience of the UK raspberry industry, by developing sustainable novel propagation methods. Currently the demand for propagated raspberry material outstrips supply, especially for popular new varieties such as 'Malling Bella'. Efficient quality raspberry production is highly dependent on healthy, vigorous planting material produced by specialist propagators to high health standards. Much of the current material required is imported from the EU and all plant material requires certification and requires constant replacement. This issue is heightened with rising energy and fuel costs along with post-Brexit imports becoming more costly and complicated, leading to strain on UK Raspberry production and the wider UK fruit industry. Raspberry propagation is currently costly and inefficient requiring innovative strategies to develop a sustainable approach to secure the future of the industry. The main threat to raspberry production in the UK is the quality and quantity of canes produced and the plant survival rate.

In this project we will develop a sustainable and integrated management strategy, incorporating the use of commercially available beneficial microorganisms into current propagation practise. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) have been shown to aid the establishment and survivability of plants whilst reducing the inputs needed for production. Our previous research suggests that AMF increases establishment when incorporated into soft fruit propagation and fungi remain active after the cold storage process preceding planting in the production site. Beneficial microbes will be incorporated into the key stages of raspberry propagation to improve the survivability, growth and yield of plants. The project will address the challenge to produce consistent healthy disease-free 'Malling Bella' raspberry plants whilst re-using coir substrates with enhanced microbial diversity, consequently increasing production success and market access for growers of this and other Malling varieties, in K&M, the UK and beyond.