THE UK’s £10 million-a-year blackcurrant crop could wither on the vine as warmer winters batter berries, researchers say.
Aberdeen’s specialist James Hutton Institute says rising temperatures may delay the start of the growing season, producing less fruit and reducing quality.
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Big brands like Ribena could be affected and, with the berry described as “the canary in the mine”, it is feared that other fruits could also suffer, decimating the farming and food production sectors.
Presenting the findings at the annual meeting of the British Ecological Society in Birmingham today, Dr Katherine Preedy, of the institute’s Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland arm, said: “We are already seeing the effects of milder winters.
“Blackcurrants are like the canary in the mine. If we can understand what they need in a changing climate, we can apply our knowledge to similar crops like blueberries, cherries, apples and plums.”
Around 35% of the current crop needs to spend at least 1800 in temperatures of less than 7C as the plant prepares to bud.
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Currently, 12 varieties are widely grown in the UK and Ribena, which has a brand worth at least £140 million, invests in the British Blackcurrant Breeding Programme coordinated by the James Hutton Institute.
In the latest study, temperature tests on 20 varieties found that although some were able to compensate for warmer winter temperatures if chilled for long enough, others were not and growth became “erratic”.
The differences lie in the genetics, as some varieties have evolved in different climatic regions or are the result of selective breeding over the years.
It is thought that warmer conditions could reduce the lifespans of those most affected.
Whilst previous varieties were produced with tougher skins to increase shelf life, this research is said to demonstrate the potential to develop varieties “that can cope better with a changing climate”.
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Study collaborator, Professor Hamlyn Jones from Dundee University, said the findings mean stronger options could be developed, and may help growers select species more suitable to their region.
He commented: “If we can understand this, farmers can carefully select varieties based on the climate and conditions in which they are going to be planted, and breeders can develop varieties that are more resilient to both warmer winters or periods of extreme cold.”
Around 1200 ecologists from more than 40 countries will attend today’s event.
Preedy said: “In the future, we hope to identify genetic markers associated with the ability to withstand variable winters, so we can rapidly breed new varieties of blackcurrants.”
An estimated 14 billion blackcurrants are grown in the UK every year on land equivalent to 11,000 football pitches.
It takes around 200 berries to make one litre of Ribena squash, with around 51,000 bottles of the purple stuff leaving the production line every hour.
Trading on its high vitamin C content, the drink was given free to children as a health supplement during the Second World War.
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