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James Hutton Institute – Investing in British Blueberries.

The Story

 Ripple Aquaplast had our 10 minutes of fame on the television last night, our system design and products where shown on the BBC’s “Supermarket Secrets”. Discussing the importance of creating a Blueberry native to Britain.

Due to the serge in demand over the past years for blueberries, supermarkets are starting to try and source this “super food” locally. However, at the moment roughly 90% of the UK’s blueberries are imported from abroad.

With over £3 million being invested into the research of a native British blueberry, Dr Susan McCallum from The Jame Hutton Institute in Scotland, hopes to bring this vision into reality over the next eight years.

The James Hutton Institute has chosen the Bilberry, native to Europe and the UK, for its primary focus. Rich in anthocyanin, which helps reduce cardiovascular disease, and vibrant in colour, the Bilberry has it all. Well at least in small quantities, the lack of size and yield the crop creates means that Dr Sarah McCallum has to turn to crossbreeding, to create a more substantial fruit. Using DNA profiling to gather the best traits from US blueberries, which our larger in both size and yield, mixed with the colour and health benefits of the Bilberry, to create a Blueberry perfect for the British climate and consumer.

Where do we come in!

Peter Robinson, our technical expert, was tasked with creating a drip system that would provide perfect fertigation to each and every pot. With over 6,000 seeds being used in this project, with most seeds being a different variety to the next, this caused some variability in the design set up.

We provided the following:

  • 2 L/h 50cm NDJ Click Tif dripper sets
  • Automated irrigation control
  • Fertiliser Injection Unit

Please click here to see our wide range of drip products.