Agricultural Research

Adapting a staple food crop to the UK climate Common bean (Phaseolus vulgans) is the most important food legume for direct human consumption.

Sheep are an important source of milk and meat to many people throughout the world. Footrot is an infectious disease of sheep and occurs in all sheep farming countries of the world. It affects the sheep by causing painful inflammation of the skin between the digits and causes lameness and so is a major concern of animal welfare.

Carrots are a nutritionally and economically important crop, with a market value of £290 million in 2014. The UK Vegetable Genebank holds a globally significant collection of carrot seed, with over 1,500 samples, including old varieties and seeds from wild relatives of carrot. Characterising and conserving the diversity contained within our collections ensures their utility for agricultural improvement and food security.

A research bursary has been awarded to Dr Mohan Thotegowdanapalya Chandrashekaraiah from the Warwick University School of Life Sciences. This will fund his project, entitled 'Development of a novel strategy to reduce arsenic accumulation in rice grains'.

Classic crop breeding methods rely on the genetic diversity present in elite lines, however recent studies have revealed that most of this diversity is hidden and inaccessible to classical breeders due to the so-called epigenetic (above genetics) regulation.

Matching rhizobial rhythms with the crop host to maximise nitrogen fixation.