EUBerry: The Sustainable Improvement of European Berry Production, Quality, and Nutritional Value in a Changing Environment

Abstract

The main objective of the EUBerry project is to provide the necessary knowledge and tools to facilitate development of high quality, consumer-desirable fresh berry fruits of high nutritional quality optimal for human health at a competitive cost. The further objective is the development and validation of a set of tools to improve competitiveness of European berry production and consumer accessibility to berry fruits. The EUBerry platform will be developed and validated by using strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry as model crop species. Specific critical points related to improvement of berry fruit quality and reduction of production costs will also be considered for currants and blackberries. The EUBerry project will identify germplasm of the main berry fruit genera appropriate for sustainable production throughout Europe, expand high-quality production systems to improve availability of high-quality fresh berries for consumers, develop new methods to control and maintain fruit nutritional quality, validate the impact of new technologies for farmers and consumers, and disseminate and communicate the results to stakeholders and regulatory agencies. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.