Mineral vital to human health will decrease due to climate change
There are many people suffering from "hidden hunger" across the world; people that have enough food to eat but have access only to food which does not contain adequate nutritional value. Micronutrients, or minerals, are an essential part of a healthy diet, gained from the soil via the crops we eat, yet many people don't […]
February 27, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release climate change, crops, hidden hunger, micronutrient deficiency, rothamsted research, selenium, soils, steve mcgrath
Waitrose first to launch British all year round salad leaves
Waitrose has made a commitment to growing British salad leaves all year round, as part of their ongoing support for UK farming. The new and innovative growing system is a UK first and has been in development since 2014.
February 25, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release british, chard, Evesham, farming, horticulture, LED lighting, salad, salad leaves, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, waitrose, year-round salad
Study offers guidance on how to protect olive trees from being ravaged by deadly pathogen
Expert ecologists at the UK-based Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have devised a scientific model which could help predict the spread of the deadly Xylella fastidiosa which is threatening to destroy Europe's olive trees. The CEH scientists have created a model which is able to qualitatively and quantitatively predict how the deadly bacterial pathogen may spread […]
February 24, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release bacteria, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Daniel Chapman, diseases, Italy, olive trees, olives, pathology, pests, plant pathology, plant science, Research, Steven White, Xylella fastidiosa
Scientists remove reliance on seasonality in new line of broccoli – potentially doubling crop production
Scientists at the John Innes Centre (JIC) are developing a new line of fast-growing sprouting broccoli that goes from seed to harvest in 8–10 weeks. It has the potential to deliver two full crops a season in-field or it can be grown all year round in protected conditions, which could help with continuity of supply, as […]
February 23, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release BBSRC, brassica, British Food Report, broccoli, climate change, crops, JIC< caroline dean, john innes centre, jonathan clarke, judith irwin, seasonality, vegetables, vernalisation
Wild blueberries boost young people's mood
Consuming flavonoid-rich foods such as wild blueberries can have a significant positive effect on young people's mood, a University of Reading study has found. In two trials published in Nutrients, children and young people consumed a drink containing wild blueberry or a matched placebo and were asked to rate their mood on a numerical scale […]
February 21, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release blueberries, blueberry, Claire Williams, depression, fruit, health, mood, Shirley Reynolds, soft fruit, university of reading
How to be a successful pest: lessons from the green peach aphid
UK scientists, in collaboration with groups in Europe and the US, have discovered why the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) is one of the most destructive pests to many of our most important crops. Their research will inform industry and research programmes to support pest control and aid global food security.
February 13, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release aphid, BBSRC, Boyce Thompson Institute, David Swarbreck, earlham institute, Genome Biology, green peach aphid, INRA, insects, JIC, john innes centre, Myzus persicae, NIFA, pests, plant pathology, Saskia Hogenhout, tgac, the genome analysis centre, Thomas Mathers, UEA, University of East Anglia, University of Miami, USDA, viruses, Yazhou Chen
Lancaster scientist helps to tackle new invasive crop pest in southern Africa
Professor Kenneth Wilson of Lancaster Environment Centre has flown to Zambia to assess the Fall armyworm outbreaks that are devastating crops in southern Africa. The Fall armyworm – a caterpillar that eats its way through staple cereal crops, like maize, and other crops, including beans and peas – poses a major threat to food security […]
February 10, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release africa, beans, biopesticide, caterpillar, crops, Fall armyworm, FAO, Ken Wilson, Kenneth Wilson, Lancaster Environment Centre, lancaster university, maize, peas, pests, UN, University of Lancaster, University of Zambia, Zambia
Countering the Courgette Crisis
It seems we are facing a Courgette Crisis. Although it's really just a bit of a run on green vegetables, it does remind us that actually, courgettes – and now iceberg lettuce – shouldn't be 'February vegetables'. This raises some important issues about what we as consumers have learned to expect when it comes to […]
February 7, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release BBSRC, Brexit, Charlotte Allender, courgettes, Eric Holub, fresh produce, horticulture, Rosemary Collier, UK Vegetable Genebank, university of warwick, VegIN, Warwick Crop Centre, Warwick University
Veg shortage highlights vital role of horticulture R&D, says incoming NIAB EMR head
Headline news that UK supermarkets are rationing sales of fresh produce after bad weather hit supplies from southern Europe highlights the critical role of applied horticulture research focused on improving home-grown production, according to Professor Mario Caccamo, the newly appointed MD of Kent-based NIAB EMR. "As the UK prepares for a future outside the EU […]
February 6, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release Agri-Tech strategy, East Malling Research, EMR, fresh produce, government, horticulture, mario caccamo, NIAB, policy, R&D
Warwick University PhD student Daniel Wilson wins poster prize
Daniel Wilson, a PhD student in Warwick University's School of Life Sciences and the Warwick Crop Centre, won first prize for his poster at the Royal Entomological Society Post-Graduate Forum held at Sheffield University on 2nd–3rd February. Daniel's project is funded by the Waitrose Agronomy Group and the University of Warwick.
February 4, 2017 Gordon Chapman-Fox Press release Agronomy Group, PhD, poster, presentation, prize, student, university of warwick, waitrose, Warwick Crop Centre, Warwick University