New varieties of blackcurrant are being bred to meet the challenge of warmer winters in the UK ALAMYBlackcurrants are something of a barometer of Britain’s changing climate. The crops are increasingly under threat because winters in the UK have been milder. Warmer winters were confusing the plants, which were flowering and fruiting later and more sporadically, making harvesting difficult, lowering yields and producing inferior-quality berries. The amount of cold weather that blackcurrants need depends on the variety. About a third of Britain’s crop needs 1,800 hours of chilling below 7C, but some varieties need more and others less.

Source: The Times July 21, 2019 23:03 UTC