Scientists at Wye Hops and the University of Kent have been given more than £500,000  to develop a “super-hop”, a genetically engineered variety with the ability to resist environmental changes.

A pioneering collaborative project between University of Kent researchers and Wye Hops alongside the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), the British Hop Association, The Hop Plant Company and LGC genomics has been awarded £574,000 by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to develop environmentally resilient varieties. 

The five-year project will involve School of Biosciences industrial research fellow Dr Helen Cockerton working closely with hop breeder Dr Klara Hajdu on genetic-informed breeding.

Dr Cockerton said: “The tools we will develop through this project will enable us to generate better hops faster than we could achieve through using traditional approaches alone.”

Dr Hajdu added: “Through this collaboration we are not only addressing important issues such as the development of climate-resilient British hop varieties but also re-establishing a dynamic, research-driven hop-breeding programme capable of future proofing the UK hop and brewing industries in the face of evolving challenges.”