United Kingdom
7 Oct 2026
Niab will share the latest findings from its soft fruit research at its annual Soft Fruit Technical Event on 9 December 2026.
Free and open to all, this year’s event will be delivered as an online webinar, bringing together Niab scientists and research partners from across the sector to present developments in insect pest control, sustainable soft fruit production, and genetics and variety development.
The first session will cover the use of parasitoids and bait spraying for spotted wing drosophila (SWD) management and control, the use of hoverflies for aphid control, new genetic testing for thrips in strawberry, and research into using wildflowers in tunnel-grown crops to enhance pest control in soft fruit.
The second session will present research on a new biodegradable super-absorbent polymer that could retain moisture, improve nutrient use efficiency, and help beneficial microbes survive. The latest results on improving strawberry production efficiency and optimising strawberry propagation in controlled atmosphere conditions will also be presented, alongside research into managing pollinators in protected crops.
The final session will look at progress from the Soft Fruit GIN project, including research into controlling stomatal density for water-use efficiency in strawberry, developing resistance to large raspberry aphid in raspberry, and how gene editing is supporting the wider research programme. The full potential of the raspberry varieties Malling Bella and Malling Charm has also been studied this year, with results from this work presented at the event.
Niab Knowledge Exchange Manager Scott Raffle said: “We are always pleased to welcome a wide range of industry stakeholders to this annual event to share some of the exciting results of our soft fruit research at Niab. We know many in the industry have come to value our Soft Fruit Technical Event, as it provides a useful briefing on key results from the past season’s research during one of the quieter periods of the year for growers. Many of the results from this year could have a significant impact on crop management systems employed next year and beyond.”
The event takes place on Wednesday 9th December starting at 9.10 am and running until 2.15 pm. Registration is free.
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