Improved efficiencies and reduced environmental impact are two key targets in the fruit sector – and visitors to Fruit Focus 2025 will be able to take away top tips and innovations in both areas.

The specialist one-day event at Niab’s cutting-edge East Malling Research Station in Kent on 9 July gives fruit growers and processors the chance to explore the latest innovations and science-based advice.

Crop production business Hutchinsons will have its horticulture and specialist support teams on-hand to offer the latest thinking around how to maximise soil health and yields in the soft fruit and vineyard sectors. “The event provides an ideal opportunity to learn more about the specialist environmental, soils, and digital services teams that support our agronomists as the demands on producers increase from many angles,” says Hutchinsons director Mike Hutchinson.

“We have also expanded these teams, reflecting growers’ needs to better understand soils, maximise production, and meet tighter environmental requirements, or tap into new schemes.”

Phil Carpenter, Hutchinsons’ regional director in horticulture, adds: “Growers are challenged by increasing labour costs, ongoing changes to the portfolio of products they have available, and the need to ensure everything is documented and recorded. Compliance audits are an annual feature of growers’ calendars, with the associated workload. Visiting Fruit Focus and talking to our teams about easy data capture and retrieval for supporting a protocol audit, or for analysis, could be time well spent.”

For the latest innovations in packaging, Sharpak will be showcasing its new product SharpTek; a lightweight, padless, fully recyclable mono-material tray for delicate berries, which cuts packaging weight by 17%. It is designed to protect and cushion delicate berries without the use of glued absorbent pads. This represents a major stride in sustainability, eradicating hundreds of tonnes of packaging from the supply chain.

There will also be a wealth of exhibitors attending from overseas, including from the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain. Spanish firm J. Huete Greenhouses will be profiling its new one-hectare multi-tunnel greenhouse, which is about to be built in Japan for hydroponic lettuce cultivation.

This project features Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) gutters as a production system, allowing a steady flow of nutrients to plant roots, helping them to grow quickly and healthy. It represents a significant advance in agricultural production technology, combining a robust structural design with advanced technological solutions for climate control and automation, all adapted to local requirements and regulations.

There will also be the chance to explore the benefits of enriched CO2 in greenhouses with Nippon Gases. In the UK and Ireland, the company sources CO2 as a by-product from bioethanol fuel and ammonia production, using it to increase the concentration of CO2 in the air to optimise plant growth.

Nippon Gases provides the infrastructure required for CO2 enrichment, which includes installing liquid CO2 storage tanks at customer sites. The CO2 is vaporised and injected into the greenhouse atmosphere, where it helps improve plant metabolic activity, increase final yields, and enhance plant resilience.

Mark Dziuba, commercial manager in the UK and Ireland, explains the process in more detail: "The glasshouse controls how it injects the CO2 into the atmosphere, depending on factors like the time of year, whether the ventilation is open or closed, and whether it's sunny, daytime or nighttime, etc.

"By using CO2 enrichment you are effectively giving the plants the best environment in which to grow, increasing productivity and yields with a stronger, more resilient plant."

For more information or to book tickets / exhibition stands, visit www.fruitfocus.co.uk