The berries emerging in Europe from new breeding and processing

Research is helping strawberries and raspberries become more resilient to climate change and snacks become healthier.Supermarkets across Europe offer such regular and wide selections of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries—even in the grip of winter—that it's easy to take them for granted.But behind the seemingly limitless domestic and foreign supplies on store shelves, the berry sector worldwide is facing a serious threat: Increasingly erratic growing conditions sparked by climate change. The result is that berries are more vulnerable to pests, diseases and droughts.Professor Bruno Mezzetti is seeking answers for producers in Europe. An expert in fruit-crop breeding and biotechnology at Marche Polytechnic University in Italy, he leads a project that received EU funding to increase the genetic diversity of cultivated strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in a bid to make them more resilient while retaining the traits—taste, texture and smell—craved by consumers.Called ...