Press release

“We felt it was really time to provide an updated picture of wild oat herbicide resistance, and also a general picture of where we are with wild oats currently across the UK, so we asked for wild oat samples to be submitted after harvest, along with a detailed questionnaire, ” said NIAB’s weed biology specialist, John Cussans.

There are two species of wild oats that are weeds in the UK – the common wild oat and the winter wild oat.

In a landmark discovery for global wheat production an international consortium of crop researchers, including NIAB in the UK, have sequenced the genomes for 15 important wheat varieties used in breeding programmes around the world.

The results will enable plant scientists and breeders to much more quickly identify influential genes for improved yield, pest resistance and other important crop traits.

Building on a wealth of existing investment in UK wheat R&D, including the UK Research and Innovation BBSRC-funded Designing Future Wheat programme (DFW), the newly formed IWYP – European Winter Wheat Hub will accelerate research discoveries from the UK and globally into commercial plant breeding.

A public-private partnership, the IWYP - European Winter Wheat Hub will combine novel traits discovered by collaborative international teams into a range of high performing European winter wheat genetic backgrounds for assessment and use in winter wheat breeding programmes.

NIAB has launched a new molecular diagnostics service on becoming a partner of the AgriTech Centre Crop Health and Protection (CHAP).

NIAB will host the new service at its Cambridge site, for use by researchers in both commercial and academic organisations.

The Crop Science Centre is an alliance between the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and NIAB.

An independent assessment of the value of research taking place at crop science organisation NIAB has revealed an 18-fold return on investment to the wider UK economy.

The economic impact report, by Donald Webb of Brookdale Consulting, concluded that for every £1 spent on research at NIAB, at least £17.60 is returned to the UK economy through improved production efficiency, economic growth, import substitution, export earnings and inward investment.

Six new first-choice varieties have been added to the British Society of Plant Breeder’s 2021 Forage Maize Descriptive Lists (DL), published on 1st September 2020.

Start-up agritech businesses will have access to new work and research facilities, alongside business support opportunities, with the development of Barn4, a purpose-built facility on the outskirts of Cambridge.

The invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) has been intercepted using a pheromone trap at the RSPB’s Rainham Marshes nature reserve in Essex, one of the monitoring sites.

The research programme, using a network of synthetically-produced sex pheromone lure hung from a tree, is being managed by scientists at NIAB EMR, the horticultural research institute based at East Malling in Kent.

The agreement gives NIAB EMR immediate worldwide control and management of all current and future marketing and licensing rights for the varieties which to date had been managed by Meiosis.  Instead, the parties will together explore licencing opportunities in countries further afield, not currently growing varieties from the Malling berry breeding programmes. To support this transition, Meiosis will continue the role of royalty collection for a fixed period of time.