Niab Landmark: Issue 61 - Summer 2026

Niab Landmark: Issue 61 - Summer 2026

Issue 61 brings together the latest insights from across the industry, including the final column from outgoing CEO Mario Caccamo and the launch of Niab’s new Strategic Programmes. We explore key crop health challenges, from chocolate spot in beans to evolving yellow rust pressures in wheat, alongside practical guidance on using stubble management to tackle black-grass. Horticulture is also in focus, with features on how landscape impacts beneficial insects, and biocontrol options for SWD. We round off with a look at the most promising cereal candidates for 2026/27—many of which can be seen at Niab’s June Open Days and the Cereals Event alongside the latest advice and updates from Niab’s research and agronomy teams.

Articles include:

A decade of change: closing a personal chapter at Niab
Mario Caccamo reflects on his tenure as CEO of NIAB since 2021, highlighting the organisation’s contributions to horticultural and agricultural innovation, resilience, and translational research, and his personal reflections upon leaving the role.

New Strategic Programmes to future-proof UK farming
Niab introduces four new Strategic Programmes to address climate change, productivity, and sustainability challenges. By linking research with on-farm application, these initiatives aim to accelerate innovation adoption, improve resilience, and deliver practical, science-based solutions for the horticultural and agricultural sectors.

New cereal varieties to look out for in 2026/27
Variety specialist Clare Leaman reviews the AHDB RL candidate cereal varieties, highlighting where there are improvements in yield, disease resistance, and quality traits, and helping growers identify promising candidates suited to evolving agronomic challenges and market demands. Join Clare at Niab’s Open Days and Cereals Event to discuss variety choice.

Chocolate spot in winter beans
Chocolate spot disease threatens winter bean yields under cool, wet conditions. Pathologist Tom Wood is joined by agronomist Syed Shah to explain pathogen biology, environmental drivers, and varietal influences, stressing integrated management through agronomy, resistant varieties, and well-timed fungicides to minimise crop damage and maintain productivity.

ADOPT – SWD biocontrol options
Niab research explores biological control of spotted wing drosophila using parasitoid wasps. Researcher Francesca Elliott’s findings show native and newly detected species may reduce pest populations, with the project aiming to enhance sustainable pest management through targeted releases and habitat-based strategies.

ADOPT – Chickpeas in efficient farming systems
Break crop specialist Colin Peters and Cambridgeshire farmer David White introduce a collaborative project, exploring the potential of UK-grown chickpeas as a sustainable, profitable break crop, supported by the ADOPT funding programme and involving multiple farms, industry partners, and researchers.

Stubble management and black-grass control
Guest authors Bob Froud-Williams, Stephen Moss and Jim Orson outline the principles for reducing black-grass seed survival between crops, explaining that understanding seed dormancy, soil conditions, and timing helps optimise integrated weed management and reduces future infestations.

A new generation of crop scientists
For graduate students interested in studying for a PhD Niab has excellent resources for research in molecular plant science, quantitative genetics, breeding, transgenic technology and plant pathology both at our Cambridge and East Malling sites. Niab PhD students Jasper Kanomanyanga, Denis Florentin-Sfrangeu, and Deborah Babalola introduce themselves and summarise their research.