Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 9.7
Machine-harvesting
of blackcurrants in Glouces-
tershire, England
Commercial Production
Most commercial
Ribes
production is in northern and eastern Europe, and in the case
of blackcurrant the crop is largely machine-harvested for processing, mainly for
juice (Fig.
9.7
). Blackcurrant production in 2011 was estimated at 151,000 tonnes
in Europe and 196,000 tonnes worldwide (Anon
2012
). The largest global producer
is Poland, followed by the UK, France and Scandinavia. Accurate production esti-
mates for Russia and China are not available but blackcurrant crop has an increasing
economic importance in those countries. Blackcurrant production in North America
is small, despite favourable growing conditions, mainly due to white pine blister
rust (
Cronartium ribicola
), for which
Ribes
species can be alternate hosts. As a
result, restrictions and laws prohibiting cultivation of
Ribes
in the US were imple-
mented, although most states have now removed those restrictions and there is a
growing interest in expanding
Ribes
production (Hummer and Dale
2010
).
Commercial gooseberry production began at the end of the nineteenth century,
and some cultivars from that time have continued to be grown in Europe, notably
`Careless' and 'Whinham's Industry'. However, gooseberry mildew (
Sphaerotheca
mors-uvae
—the same species as on blackcurrant) has made resistant cultivars in-
creasingly important for cultivation, whether commercially or in home gardens.
One of the key factors in the development of blackcurrant as a crop, at least in
northern Europe, is its inherently high levels of vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AsA). In
the UK, during and after the Second World War commercial growing of blackcur-
rant was encouraged in order to produce vitamin C-rich juices for infants. Levels in
commonly grown cultivars are between 130-200 mg/100 ml juice, although some
breeding lines can have almost twice as much (Brennan et al.
2008
) and some wild
accessions of
R. nigrum
var.
sibiricum
even more (Volunez and Zazulina
1980
).
The AsA content of blackcurrant can vary according to the cropping season, but the
relative cultivar rankings remain fairly constant (Walker et al.
2010
).
Blackcurrants are also rich in polyphenols, including flavonoids such as
anthocyanins and flavonols, and cultivars containing elevated levels of anthocyanins
are now in demand from both processors and consumers (Giné Bordonaba and Ter-
ry
2008
; Brennan and Graham
2009
).
