Blackcurrant material from the gooseberry ("Ribes grossularia"), the red currant ("Ribes rubrum") and the flowering currant ("Ribes sanguineum"). The resulting offspring were further back-crossed to "R. nigrum". Cultivars produced include 'Tisel' and 'Tiben' in 2000 and 'Ores', 'Ruben' and 'Tines' in 2005. Further cultivars 'Polares' and 'Tihope' are being tested. Since 1991, New Zealand has become an important centre for research and development, as its temperate climate is particularly suitable for cultivation of the crop. Breeding programmes are concentrating on yield, large fruit size, consistency of cropping and upright habit. In North America, there is a need for this fruit to
Epicoccum nigrum (a of 0.99 to 0.97), growth is optimized at water vapour saturation. "Epicoccum nigrum" produces a variety of biomedically and industrially useful metabolites, including important antifungal agents and pigments, including: flavipin, epicorazines A and B, epirodin, epicocconone, and a variety of carotenoid pigments. "Epicoccum nigrum" has also been utilized in the biosynthetic manufacture of silver- and gold nanoparticles. A highly robust and ubiquitous fungus, "E. nigrum" has an almost global spread, occurring in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Spores of "E. nigrum" have been cultured from a variety of environments, predominantly soil (i.e. peat, forest floor, raw humus, compost, tundra,