NIAB has welcomed today’s (21 October) publication of an independent report on the economic impact of the loss of plant protection products (PPPs) on UK agriculture, and warns of potential further losses of active ingredients in the future.
The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has published the 2015 Forage Maize for Anaerobic Digestion Descriptive List, aimed at biogas producers growing and using the crop as a feedstock.
Eight new first-choice varieties have been added to the BSPB 2015 Forage Maize Descriptive List.
Linda Maile has been appointed Chief Officer of the Official Seed Testing Station for England and Wales.
Currently Head of OSTS Seed Testing Laboratories based at NIAB Cambridge, Miss Maile takes over from Jane Taylor, who is stepping down after seven year’s service at the helm of the OSTS.
The UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey confirms that the ‘Warrior-type’ was the dominant yellow rust race in the UK this summer, with no new races detected to date.
The mild 2013 autumn and winter conditions, and continuing favourable weather in 2014, resulted in one of the most severe yellow rust epidemics for many years. At least four different strains of the ‘Warrior-type’ race have been identified so far, all of which were very severe on many of the 2014 HGCA Recommended List varieties.
The Community Resource for Wheat Transformation is a resource for UK plant scientists to apply for their genes to be transformed into wheat free of charge, funded by the BBSRC’s Biological and Bioinformatic Resources fund (BBR).
Farmers are being encouraged to get out of the tractor and start digging to check for compaction and soil structure problems.
Shallow tillage systems are producing soils with a higher resistance to penetration which could potentially restrict rooting and the ability of the crop to fully exploit the soil profile, warns NIAB TAG.
Results from NIAB TAG’s STAR Project, now in its ninth year, have highlighted changes in soil characteristics between differing cultivation approaches in the study.
