Blackberry Breeding
James Hutton Institute Scientific Services has an exciting commercial breeding programme, funded by the Blackberry Breeding Consortium, which focuses on large-fruited blackberries with particular priority on excellent flavour
The programme builds on extensive blackberry genetics at the James Hutton Institute and is well known globally for varieties such as Loch Ness and Loch Tay.
Revolutionising blackberries
The James Hutton Institute has been breeding blackberries for more than 60 years and is well known for the highly successful variety Loch Ness, which was released in 1988 and dominated the European market with exceptional yield and fruit size. Loch Tay was released in 2003 with an earlier season and sweeter flavour than Loch Ness. The demand for blackberries in Europe is growing and new varieties with enhanced, sweet flavour are increasingly popular with consumers. The programme focuses on breeding novel varieties with the desired traits to satisfy this demand. The priority is to breed thornless varieties with sweet, aromatic flavour, large fruit size, high productivity, low reversion and tolerance to pathogens.
Many promising selections covering a range of seasons are in the pipeline but Loch Katrine was named and released in 2024 after demonstrating exceptional results in both breeding and on-farm trials. Loch Katrine has large fruit with a consistent size and shape and has an excellent aromatic, sweet flavour with low acidity and no bitterness or astringency. It shows good colour stability and little reversion after cold storage. Productivity is high, with yields consistently competitive with Loch Ness in Scottish trials. Canes are semi-erect and thornfree.
Nikki Jennings, Soft Fruit Breeder
Our breeding focus is on fruit quality and flavour, alongside good shelf-life, with a view to helping growers satisfy the rising demand for blackberries.
