Maren Korsgaard

Maren Korsgaard is a part-time Academic Research Staff member at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, specializing in fruit research within the Section for Crop Sciences in Taastrup. She holds a Cand. Hort. degree from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (awarded October 26, 1983) and served as an organic fruit and berry consultant at Økologisk VKST from 2006 to 2020.

Her research focuses on organic fruit production, cultivar development (particularly apples, plums, and sour cherries), disease prevention strategies like apple scab management, and functional biodiversity in orchards. Key projects include:

• InnOBreed (2022-2025): Developing fruit cultivars for organic production
• Danish apple cultivar development (2019-present)
• ProtecFruit (2014-2018): Apple scab prevention via strategic irrigation
• Genetic resource utilization of heritage fruits for organic cider/wine (2010-2011)
• Development of the web-based 'Pometum Apple-key' identifying 319 cultivars (2007-2010)

Her publication trends emphasize participatory breeding methods, organic orchard management, biodiversity monitoring, and cultivar evaluation for Scandinavian conditions. She frequently presents at international conferences like EcoFruit and conducts public workshops on robust fruit varieties.