Ali Capper is new executive chair at EAP

Worcestershire grower Ali Capper has been announced as the new executive chair of trade organisation English Apples & Pears.

Ms Capper, who grows top fruit and hops, and is the current chair of the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board, will take up the restructured role from outgoing chief executive Steven Munday.

Ali said, “I’m very excited about joining EAP as their new executive chair. I’m passionate about the top fruit industry and as a grower myself I understand the issues and the opportunities that face us. I’m looking forward to working with the EAP board and our new services providers to provide a best-value solution to our grower shareholders”.

A spokesperson for EAP added, “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Steven for all his hard work in delivering our modernisation programme which has put EAP in a much better position to concentrate on the important elements of working on behalf of our growers. It is now clear that we need someone who has an empathy for the industry and who is an experienced and successful lobbyist and we believe that Ali is a perfect fit for this role.”

Going forward EAP will Richmond & Towers to deliver PR and the British Growers Association to perform back-office functions.

Photo Credit: NFU

The post Ali Capper is new executive chair at EAP appeared first on Hort News on 8 March 2018.

Grocery market ‘buoyant’

The latest information release by Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks to 25 February 2018 shows that grocery sales in the UK have increased in value by 3.2 per cent compared to the same time last year. This is the 12th consecutive period that total market sales growth has exceeded 3 per cent, and that each of the big four retailers has seen positive growth.

Tesco and Morrisons both recorded sales growth of 2.7 per cent – the fastest rate amongst the big four. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said, “Tesco continues to perform well – more positive news following approval of its Booker acquisition last week. Despite a slight fall in market share of 0.1 percentage points, Tesco experienced particularly strong growth from its Extra superstores. The varied selection of groceries on offer at these larger stores has encouraged customers to return to fuller trolley shops, with average baskets worth £31.09 – currently, the highest value in the bricks and mortar market.

“Holding market share steady year on year at 10.6%, Morrisons has continued its run of form, entering its 16th consecutive period of growth. Its premium own-label line The Best proved particularly successful, with sales rising by 20% year on year as cooked meats, vegetables and cakes and pastries tickled shoppers’ fancy.”

Aldi and Lidl once again battled to be crowned the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket.  Aldi pipped Lidl to the post this month as sales grew by 13.9% and 13.3% respectively.  With both discounters working hard to expand their store portfolio, Aldi and Lidl also benefited from increased shopper numbers as well as growth in basket size.

Photo Credit: Flickr

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Bayer to sell Nunhems to get Monsanto deal through

Following rumours last month, Bayer has confirmed that it plans to sell of vegetable breeding division Nunhems in order to gain regulatory approval for its ongoing take-over bid for Monsanto.

The announcement comes as Bayer tries to reassure European regulators who have concerns about competition in key areas including seeds, traits and crop protection. Last year Bayer sold €5.9 billion of crop science assets to BASF.

“We have now also committed to divest our entire vegetable seed business. Certain additional business activities of Bayer and Monsanto may also be sold or out-licensed,” Management Board Chairman Werner Baumann said at a Financial News Conference in Leverkusen on 28 February. His comments have been interpreted by some that parts of Monstanto’s De Ruiter and Seminis brands could also be affected, but with Bayer and De Ruiter both being particularly active in tomato breeding, the divestment of Nunhems may satisfy regulators.

Photo Credit: Nunhems

The post Bayer to sell Nunhems to get Monsanto deal through appeared first on Hort News on 5 March 2018.

Purple potatoes reduce colon cancer risk

Scientists at Pennsylvania State University have found that a diet rich in colourful fruits and vegetables, and in particular purple potatoes, may help to prevent or stop colon cancer and bowel diseases, following trials on pigs.

In the study, pigs that were served a high calorie diet supplemented with purple-fleshed potatoes had less colonic mucosal interleukin-6 — IL-6 — compared to a control group. IL-6 is a protein that is important in inflammation, and elevated IL-6 levels are correlated with proteins, such as Ki-67, that are linked to the spread and growth of cancer cells.

“What we are learning is that food is a double-edge sword — it may promote disease, but it may also help prevent chronic diseases, like colon cancer,” said Jairam K.P. Vanamala, associate professor of food sciences at Penn State University. “What we don’t know is, ‘how does this food work on the molecular level?’ This study is a step in that direction.”

While the researchers used purple potatoes in this study, Vanamala said other colourful fruits and vegetables could prompt similar effects. “For example, white potatoes may have helpful compounds, but the purple potatoes have much greater concentrations of these anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant compounds,” he said. “We use the purple potato as a model and hope to investigate how other plants can be used in the future.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The post Purple potatoes reduce colon cancer risk appeared first on Hort News on 5 March 2018.

Eating fruit and veg. combats depression

US scientists have said that a diet which emphasises the consumption of vegetables, fruit and whole grains may lead to a reduced risk of depression.

Researchers from Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago found that those who followed the so-called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet were less likely to develop depression than people who did not. The study evaluated a total of 964 participants with an average age of 81 annually for approximately six-and-a-half years.

Each participant was monitored for symptoms of depression and filled out questionnaires about how often they ate various foods. The researchers examined how closely the participants’ reported diets adhered to different diets such as the DASH diet, a Mediterranean diet and the traditional Western diet, which is high in saturated fats and red meats and low in fruits and vegetables.

“There is evidence linking healthy lifestyle changes to lower rates of depression and this study sought to examine the role that diet plays in preventing depression,” explained study author Dr Laurel Cherian of Rush University Medical Centre. “Future studies are now needed to confirm these results and to determine the best nutritional components of the DASH diet to prevent depression later in life and to best help people keep their brains healthy.”

Photo Credit: Flickr

The post Eating fruit and veg. combats depression appeared first on Hort News on 5 March 2018.

Twin partnerships to address soil health

Soils are fundamental to almost all forms of crop production, so adopting a rotational approach to soil health makes sense. That’s why AHDB has funded a five-year programme of research and knowledge exchange into key aspects of soil health as part of the GREATsoils programme. With the first information gathering reports published, the work is now moving into the next phase – Experiments and on-farm trials designed to answer key questions raised by farmers and growers about how they can practically improve soil health in their own fields. Read more…

Berry Gardens to use shelf life technology

Berry and stone fruit marketing organisation Berry Gardens has signed an arrangement with technology company Anacail to exclusively use their ozone technology for berries, cherries and plums in the UK.

Berry Gardens CEO, Jacqui Green, said, “This technology is game changing in our industry, using ozone, a proven sterilant, to reduce the presence of yeasts and moulds. This means extended shelf life, reduced waste and a better product for our consumer. We are thrilled to be working with Anacail and our businesses are closely aligned in our ambition to ensure the best berries, cherries and plums are available to our consumers across the breadth of the retail sector.”

Anacail, which is a venture capital backed SME spin-out from the Astrophysics Department at Glasgow University, specialises in creating and handling ozone in revolutionary, safe and flexible ways. Its key technology allows the generation of ozone (an activated form of oxygen), inside sealed packages, without damaging or opening the package.

Anacail’s CEO, Ian Muirhead commented, “We are delighted to sign this collaboration with Berry Gardens, a major player and leading innovator in their sector.  It is a major milestone for Anacail in bringing our innovative technology to market.”

Photo Caption: Anacail’s F-LC2-250 in-pack ozone machine.

Photo Credit: Anacail Ltd

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Southern England Farms trials English workers

Cornish-based vegetable grower Southern England Farms has taken part in the BBC programme Inside Out South West, highlighting the migrant labour crisis by employing a group of young people from Plymouth to pick cabbages.

After four hours the farm’s Eastern European staff had picked nearly 10 times as many cabbages as the young British workers. Jennifer Brunt, 23, who works in sales, said, “This is hard, my hands are too small and they’re cold and my nose is running. My fingers are already frozen and we haven’t even been here for an hour.”

Another woman, 22-year-old Cambridge-graduate Hottie Burrows, had to sit in a tractor to warm her hands up. “Honestly, I was in so much pain but I don’t quit,” she said. “Like last year I ran two marathons if I can do that why can’t I pick cabbages?”

The farm normally employs 500 pickers. Owner Greville Richards commented, “It’s rewarding if you want to get on. Some of the teams that we have here earn very good money. Now we are finding that we are Bulgarian and Romanian, purely because the Lithuanians and the Polish don’t want to come here because there’s nothing in it for them now with the way the exchange rate is.”

One British worker said they would “never” consider the job as a career.

Photo Caption: The farm normally employs 500 pickers.

Photo Credit: Southern England Farms

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Sales double at juice firm

Juice producer The Juice Executive says that sales have doubled in the last year with turnover increasing by £600,000 to just over £1 million.

The Kent-based company, which was started by 23 year old Alex Auger in her garage in 2014, produces more than 40 different organic juices and sells online and through independent retailers.

“I originally started off in my garage and was dropping samples off to some of the big financial services companies,” explained Alex. “It kind of snowballed since then and the time was right to put in some better practices that will allow me to concentrate on growth, whilst having a structured approach to securing and developing the best talent.

“We’ve just done the figures and we hit £1.01m in 2017, a £600,000 increase on the previous year. This has come from more retailers looking for us to contract manufacture their juices and a desire from independent coffee houses keen to co-brand their own great tasting range of juices. The plan is to grow by another 30 per cent in the coming year.”

Photo Caption: Alex Auger of The Juice Executive.

Photo Credit: YouTube

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New ‘Tomato Expression Atlas’ dives deep into the fruit’s flesh

Researchers have published a ‘spatiotemporal map’ of gene expression for all tissues and all the developmental stages of tomato fruit which highlights how a fruit changes from inside to out as it ripens.

How a fruit ripens has long been an important question for breeders, and with the global tomato market worth around $55 billion a year, tomato is an important subject for understanding the genetic basis of commercially important traits, such as size, colour, flavour, and nutritional content.

“We needed unbiased sampling that was as representative as possible. For that purpose, we harvested in total more than 400 samples from more than 60 randomly selected individual tomato plants,” explained postdoctoral scientist Philippe Nicolas who was involved in the multi-partner project.

The researchers carefully dissected the tomato tissues by hand and with lasers to isolate and sequence RNA from individual tissues and even cells. The sequence data was then compiled, parsed, and organized into the Tomato Expression Atlas (TEA), where it can be analyzed to investigate the various biological processes important for fruit development.

“The TEA database offers an unprecedented level of interactivity and novel ways to visualize complex, multidimensional expression data,” added scientist Lukas Mueller, referring to the TEA’s graphic interface that allows users to visualize gene expression through heat maps and fruit pictographs.

Photo Caption: Tomato fruit at the different developmental stages used for this study.

Photo Credit: The Tomato Expression Atlas

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