The future of fruit and berry breeding in the Nordic region

Apple and strawberry are our biggest fruit and berry crops, with long traditions in Norway and high status among consumers. The climate in Norway is favorable for growing strawberries, but the short season has led to increased imports to cover the year-round demand. Norway is the northernmost area for apple growing, and the short and cool season demands apple cultivars adapted to the unique climatic conditions. Strengthening food security and reducing the rate of imported produce are important national goals. In apples, specifically, this is an important target area, because the degree of self-sufficiency is very low (16.5%). To enable Norwegian produced apple and strawberry to compete with imported fruits, it is important to have cultivars that meet consumer demands in terms of fruit quality and taste. Furthermore, to give the Norwegian farmers access to the best cultivars for their local conditions, and at the same time contribute to a more reliable production, new cultivars should be resilient, including enhanced multi-stress tolerance and be adapted to the Nordic growing conditions. The long term aim of the workshop is increasing the apple and strawberry industry's access to good varieties and thereby improving competitiveness and profitability in all stages of the production. The focus is on the development of new knowledge to improve competitiveness in the entire value chain through strengthening Norwegian R&D through international networking in developing new knowledge that will benefit the farmer through increased value creation and result in higher food security. To develop resilient varieties that contribute to sustainable production and meet consumer demands, the use of new molecular tools and other methods will be explored at the workshop, contributing to more efficient and targeted cultivar development and cultivar testing.

The Norwegian government has a strong desire to increase consumption of Norwegian produced green products. Furthermore, strengthening food security and decreasing import of food, especially fruit, is an important national goal. Specifically, in apple, 83.5% of the consumed fruits are currently imported. Apple is the most important fruit in Norway by volume and over 12 000 tons were produced in 2023. Strawberry is the largest berry crop and the Norwegian strawberry market has an annual value of approx. 954 million NOK (SSB, 2023), obtained from 3704 tons domestic produced, and 8 374 tons imported strawberries. To achieve higher consumption of Norwegian-produced fruit, key aspects are providing consumers with high-quality fruit through the availability of superior cultivars meeting consumer demands. The Nordic fruit growing is carried out in highly variable climatic conditions, especially regarding temperature, light, and length of the growing season. The conditions are unlike most other countries in the world, hence the need for adapted cultivars and adapted growing systems is evident. The long-term aim of the network is to strengthen Norwegian basic and applied research to support the fruit and berry value chain and ultimatily give increased value creation to Norwegian farmers. The exploration of cutting-edge research and implementation of novel genomic methods into the breeding programs for development of new, resilient cultivar that can withstand a changing climate and meet consumer demands, are important factors for sustainable production and increased food security. The event is open to anyone who wishes to attend online, and invitations with teams links will be sent to all relevant research institutions (NMBU, UIO, NIBIO, NOFIMA).