NIAB - National Institute of Agricultural Botany
Plant Science Into Practice
Training & Consultancy
NIAB has a long-established and successful reputation in delivering specialist training to government and commercial customers. These include variety and pest identification, crop inspection methods, seed sampling and testing specifically aimed at agricultural advisors and agronomists in support of crop quality assurance schemes.
Recently, NIAB has undertaken a more wideranging development and outreach programme designed to reconnect with the original aims of the Institute, targeting individuals within the agricultural and scientific communities, but also extending it to future generations of scientists including schoolchildren.
Case studies
Quantitative Genetics in Plant Breeding
NIAB runs a unique two-week intensive training course in ‘Quantitative Genetics in Plant Breeding’. Targeted at both existing and prospective plant breeders from across the world, the postgraduate level course aims to update practitioners on the role and application of statistical and quantitative genetics in practical plant breeding programmes.
This NIAB course is the only intensive training programme of its kind to provide the statistical and genetic background to the wide spectrum of quantitative methods, traditional and new, relevant to plant breeding – from practical trial design and analysis through to the role of modern computer software in marker-assisted selection and association genetics.
Schoolchildren understanding plant genetics
In 2008 and 2009 NIAB scientists visited schools across Cambridgeshire as part of the Institute’s ‘Understanding plant genetics from breeder to consumer’ project. This was in support of the 2008 ‘Year of Food and Farming’ and 2009 ‘Think Food and Farming’ national campaigns, helping children find out more about the countryside and where their food comes from through memorable, first-hand learning experiences.
Plant science has an important role in the future in seeking solutions to the global challenges of food security and water availability. Sharing this knowledge and enthusiasm with schoolchildren and members of the public is an increasingly important part of NIAB’s work, promoting plant science as an exciting career opportunity.