Katie Hopson
Research Interests
Assistant plant breeder, involved in all aspects of the breeding programme for the East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club (EMSBC).
Currently, I am responsible for the meristem dissection and culture of seedlings selected in the breeding programme.
I also perform disease screening to establish resistance of strawberry cultivars to Phytophthora cactorum (crown rot), Podosphaera aphanis (powdery mildew) and Verticillium dahliae (verticillium wilt).
Staff Recent Research Projects
Previous to my role as a plant breeder, I worked in Entomology, part of the Pest & Pathology Ecology Department (PPE), where I contributed to three trials developing methods to manage the invasive soft fruit pest Drosophila suzukii.