Arable Multi-million pound boost for crop research
The John Innes Centre and Roth- amsted Research are among four benefi ciaries of a £5.3m funding package to improve the resil- ience, sustainability and quali- ty of crops grown by UK farmers. Researchers at Warwick and
York universities will also benefi t from the funding. It will be used to boost productivity for pulses, wheat, leafy vegetables and oil- seed rape as part of Defra’s Crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs).
Defra secretary Michael Gove announced the funding package on Friday (15 June). Developing new technology was crucial to ensuring farmers could contin- ue to grow world-class produce in an environmentally friendly way, he said.
“I hope to see the creation of new and innovative growing prac- tices and crop protections so we can truly unlock the potential of our food and farming industries,” said Mr Gove.
Since being created in 2009,
the John Innes Centre’s pulse crop research programmes have helped to improve crop resist- ance to pests and diseases, such as downy mildew; and enhance pea crops to generate high-qual- ity animal feed. Claire Domoney, who leads on pulse crop research at John Innes, said: “This funding will see the re- sults of fundamental science de- veloped into practical outcomes, ensuring farmers and growers are equipped with the tools they need to produce the most resil- ient pulse crops.”
The government has so far in- vested £160m through the Agri- Tech Strategy to harness the latest agricultural research and technologies. NFU crops board chairman Tom Bradshaw wel- comed the additional funding. “The NFU is keen to identi-
fy new tools that can help farm- ers adopt further Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches to
tackling pests and diseases, and in the past there has been a lack of funding for this area of research. “We hope this research will generate new knowledge and provide new options to improve
and protect crops, as well-target- ed investment now will help un- derpin productivity for the future. We look forward to seeing how the research will deliver for farmers in the fi eld.”
Novel trap could revolutionise
disease monitoring a server, thanks to an internal 4G router. The ‘DNA auto spore trap’,
An automated spore trap has been developed which could rev- olutionise disease monitoring in agricultural crops. The device – developed as part
of an AHDB project led by Roth- amsted Research – provides near real-time information on the pres- ence of airborne spores and could potentially help farmers target fungicide applications better. Several DNA-based methods to detect airborne spores of key crop pathogens were also devel- oped or improved in the project. Results can be sent wirelessly to
which was developed with the Burkard Manufacturing Com- pany, is mains-powered and can issue regular alerts on the pres- ence of spores that could affect nearby broad-acre crops. The device has capacity to sample high volumes of air and can collect spores as small as 4µm effi ciently. Once collected, the spores are identifi ed using a series of ‘in-trap’ laboratory tests.
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