The James Hutton Institute is the sole UK establishment with the expertise and
facilities to produce pathogen tested (PT) foundation stocks of
Rubus, Ribes and Fragaria. The James Hutton Institute is an international centre for
the supply of such PT germplasm for scientific and commercial
use worldwide. Because of its reputation and integrity in this
capacity, The James Hutton Institute has special relations with several countries
whereby their strict quarantine regulations are relaxed for
material originating as PT stock from The James Hutton Institute. In addition to
production of PT stocks, we can also offer a full range of
pathogen testing services for Rubus, Ribes and Fragaria. These
range from testing for a single pathogen to testing for the
full range of pests and diseases affecting these stocks.
Our prime role is to provide the industry with high health soft
fruit plants for propagation. Pathology testing is applied to
provide mother plants that are then maintained in 'state
of the art' glasshouses. Our pathology testing uses the
best tests available, many of which were originally devised at SCRI (now part of The James Hutton Institute),
to screen for a variety of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases
and nematode pests of Rubus, Ribes and Fragaria. The mother
plants provide planting material for propagation into the UK
soft fruit industry.
Secondary roles include (a) providing pathogen tested research
material to international organisations, (b) pathogen testing
of commercial soft fruit samples.
