Niab To Unveil Key Research Findings During Annual Soft Fruit Day
- gillmcshane
- Oct 22
- 2 min read
The UK’s leading crop science organisation has announced a hybrid event for its 2025 Soft Fruit Day to share both in person and online its latest developments in pest management, post-harvest quality, resource use efficiency, and the new soft fruit genetic improvement network project.
Taking place on Wednesday 3 December the annual event will feature three key sessions for up to 60 people to attend in person at Niab’s East Malling site in Kent, or for others to follow online through live streaming.
Sessions will include the latest developments in pest management in soft fruit crops; new Growing Kent & Medway-funded research to improve post-harvest quality; and research to support the improvement of resource use efficiency in the soft fruit sector.
A final session will be dedicated to presenting and discussing progress in the soft fruit genetic improvement network (SF GIN).
The programme includes an array of speakers from Niab, as well as Damian Flynn of Saga Robotics, Richard Colgan from the University of Greenwich, Lucy Wilkins from Angus Soft Fruits, and both Susan McCallum and Rob Hancock from the James Hutton Institute.
“Niab and its partners continue to manage a wide portfolio of research projects on soft fruit funded by Growing Kent & Medway, UKRI, and other funding bodies and this event allows us to share some key results with the industry,” revealed Scott Raffle, Niab Knowledge Exchange manager.
The first session of the day will cover novel approaches to controlling the large raspberry aphid, the use of hoverflies for controlling aphids in strawberry, modern technology for thrips identification, optimising predatory mite release, parasitoids for SWD control, and improving post-harvest storage of soft fruit.
The second session will reveal updates on Niab’s research to manage pollinators in protected soft fruit crops and coir recycling, as well as maximising yield potential of strawberry using vertical farming, and matching nitrogen supply to demand in strawberries.
In the final session delegates will learn how the Soft Fruit GIN project is working to provide new genetic resources to support commercial breeding programmes to breed new cultivars that use water and nutrients more efficiently and have resistance to pests and diseases.
The event will take place in person at the Orchards Events Venue in East Malling, starting at 9am until 4.15pm. Those located outside the south east of England can join the day virtually via Zoom.
Staying At The Forefront
Niab is on a mission to remain at the forefront of translating agricultural innovation into products and services that will be essential for raising the prosperity and sustainability of farmers and growers across the UK.
To that end the organisation will launch a new strategic plan in 2026 that includes a refreshed logo which is already being rolled out.
Niab CEO Professor Mario Caccamo said the Niab name and brand is a valuable resource that is evolving with the organisation, whilst still recognising its cultural legacy.
“This logo refresh will consolidate our work in creating ‘one Niab', emerging from the various sub-brands, services and organisations that have made up Niab, especially over the past 15 years, and emphasise our new vision, mission and values that drives Niab today, without losing the brand integrity and heritage,” explained Caccamo.
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