A plant breeder with East Malling Research has been awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship to look into new opportunities for UK horticulture.
Feli Fernandez will use the scholarship, funded by the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, to investigate overseas production of fruit species which could have potential to be grown in the UK market.
She has been selected as one of 20 people to receive the award this year. Mike Solomon, EMR’s science director, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to promote UK horticulture whilst furthering our knowledge of alternative fruit crops.”
The scholarship began in February with a small European briefing tour, and will allow her to travel for a total of eight weeks or so; she plans to visit eastern Europe, North America and Japan and also some Mediterranean destinations to identify fruit species with potential for UK growers.
She said: “As a breeder, I’ll be particularly interested in germplasm sources to allow varieties and species trialling and, if appropriate, to initiate UK breeding programmes.”
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