Pioneering honeyberry production in Scotland

摘要

New varieties of honeyberries "tick all the boxes" of convenience, health, taste and low labour input, according to one grower pioneering their production in Scotland. Stewart Arbuckle, of family-run Tayside soft-fruit grower PA Arbuckle & Sons, begangrowing the purple oblong fruit, from the northeast Asian native shrub Lonicera caerula, a relation of honeysuckle, three years ago. The farm now has 5ha of new varieties sourced from Canada, partly to supply other new entrant growers."We now have a co-operative of growers all over Scotland from the Borders to north of Inverness, but it takes around five years for the bushes to reach full yield," he tells Horticulture Week. "Our aim has been to get enough in the ground now so that wecan take this to the market by 2020."