Training for resilient berries
Since its launch in 2021, the EU-funded BreedingValue project has been doing its part to drive sustainable and competitive blueberry, raspberry and strawberry production across Europe. It has been developing innovative breeding strategies for new resilient berries to meet Europe’s need for sustainable cultivation systems and high-quality produce capable of withstanding the challenges posed by climate change. As part of its efforts to help European berry breeders and other stakeholders develop their skills and knowledge, BreedingValue has held a number of workshops and training sessions over the past 3 years. The most recent training event, on sensory and consumer methods, was held in Bologna, Italy, in late February 2024. Hosted by project partner National Research Council of Italy’s Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), the training was held over 3 days and focused on analysis methods of panel and consumer test results. This latest training session concluded the activities carried out as part of BreedingValue’s fourth open call launched in 2021. The call involved the development of professional, coordinated and scientifically sound methodologies for assessing the sensorial qualities of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Presenting berry results
During the training event, open call participants presented their sensory and consumer results, followed by a discussion on data management. The event also included two case studies on data analysis and visualisation of a blueberry consumer test. The first, presented by CNR-IBE research assistant Nico Lippi, used the Check-All-That-Apply method to gain insight on consumer perception of berry qualities. The second, presented by CNR-IBE Sensory Project Manager Massimiliano Magli, used the penalty analysis method to detect product characteristics that could be improved to enhance berry quality. Other presentations held during the event shed light on software and protocols for sensory and consumer data analysis and discussed the detection of volatile aromatic compounds. Participants also had the opportunity to visit CNR-IBE’s volatile organic compounds analysis lab. As part of the training, Elisa Senger from BreedingValue project partner Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, spoke on data management and visualisation. The training session is the latest of BreedingValue (Pre-breeding strategies for obtaining new resilient and added value berries) activities held in 2024 to boost knowledge and tools for breeding resilient berries. Earlier in February, a workshop titled ‘Genomic tools for berry pre-breeding material: from genome to new berry cultivars’ was held in Bordeaux, France. As reported on the BreedingValue website, its objective was to “establish a common basis of understanding regarding the application of the different genomic tools now available and their importance in increasing the competitiveness of standard and advanced breeding programs.” As part of the workshop, a field demonstration visit was organised to French project partner INVENIO’s research facilities in Douville, south-western France, to demonstrate in vitro micropropagation and soilless systems in strawberry breeding and share achievements in raspberry cultivation. For more information, please see: BreedingValue project website
Keywords
BreedingValue, berry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, breeding
