Fresh Produce Research Centre
The Fresh Produce Research Centre is a multidisciplinary team addressing UK and global issues in horticultural crop production along the length of the supply chain - with active research on crop breeding, crop production, post-harvest physiology and food safety.
We have expertise in field vegetables, soft fruit and protected vegetables.
Research
Our current and recent research includes a number of studies aiming to development better quality lettuce –firstly, by encouraging robust establishment of plants in the field at an early stage and investigating the effect of in-field variation on yield. Secondly, by reducing discolouration both before and after harvest by exploring climatic and agronomic factors and using novel sources of genetic material and determining specific genetic loci harbouring useful quality traits using diversity sets and mapping populations. Thirdly, by investigating sources of resistance to important pathogens such as Botrytis and Sclerotinia. We are also investigating abiotic stress tolerance in Brassica oleracea with the aim of identifying lines suitable for downstream breeding approaches to improve crop growth after stress at the seedling stage.
- A genetic approach to improving post-harvest quality in fresh produce
- Identifying sources of disease resistance in lettuce against Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
- Identifying the key agronomic factors and climatic conditions during crop growth that promote post-harvest discolouration in lettuce – towards a predictive model for lettuce pinking
- Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN)