Nikki Jennings is a first-class plant breeder who has progressed the development of raspberry cultivars from those suitable for machine harvesting to those with not only disease resistance but suitable for the fresh market.
She has been responsible for breeding new cultivars at James Hutton Institute for more than 20 years, with a several significant releases to the industry and amateur market over this time. The primary focus of work has been on the fresh market, selecting and developing cultivars suitable for production under a protected cropping system.
Much of her work has only ever been seen when a new cultivar is released on to the market but this will be just one of thousands of lines which have been assessed over the years. Nearly all the cultivars grown in the UK originate from her work. She has been a driving force throughout this time
