StrawGenSelect: Implementing genomic selection in cultivated strawberry for improved variety development

The UK strawberry industry is facing mounting challenges to its sustainability. The most significant challenges are: major increases in the agricultural living wage, increasing the costs of production in an industry where the main costs are labour; the reduced availability of seasonal labour; and the loss of many pesticides, leading to decreased yields, and increased resistance potential. To help meet these challenges, new varieties with larger fruit and greater yields are required to enable faster picking speeds and a greater return on investment for farmers. They must also have increased disease resistance to reduce the reliance on chemical inputs. Finally, to meet customer expectations and enhance consumer delight, new varieties must be attractive, with enhanced flavour and sweetness. The current methods of variety development are robust, but labour intensive and can be inaccurate. In order to make the breeding process more efficient, this project will implement a novel breeding method using genomic selection. The strategy involves using DNA information of all individuals in a breeding population, along with extensive measurements of fruit size, total yield, flavour, sweetness, and disease resistance. Statistical tests will be used to predict the plant characteristics by only looking at the plant DNA. In this way, decisions on which plants will be the best future varieties will be made more rapidly, leading to significant improvements in the appearance and flavour of the berries sold to consumers, a better deal for farmers, and more environmentally-friendly fruit production.