Father and Son flower growers

Ahead of British Flowers Week, early sunflowers are harvested for Waitrose, by a father and sons team in the Lincolnshire Fens, near Spalding. Henry and Charles Robinson are the sixth generation of fl…

International scientific alliance launched for crop improvement in sub-Saharan Africa

An international scientific alliance to fast track-crop improvement in sub-Saharan Africa is launched today. The Alliance to Accelerate Crop Improvements in Africa (ACACIA) supports African scientists…

New AHDB-funded project – SCEPTREplus

Warwick University‘s School of Life Sciences is a partner in a new £1.4M 4-year project ‘SCEPTREplus’ funded by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). The aim of the pro…

‘Plant teams’ may help feed a rising population, researchers say

A new research initiative led by Scotland’s James Hutton Institute is set to explore innovative mixed-species crop systems, or ‘plant teams’, in a drive to tackle a global challenge: how to feed…

TRUE food security explored from a legume-based perspective

Legumes are a very special type of crop; they are not only a source of highly nutritious food and feed but legumes require no inorganic nitrogen fertiliser, which means they have major advantages as a…

Waitrose boosts FareShare partnership with funds and volunteers in a supermarket first

As Waitrose extends its successful FareShare trial to 25 branches in total this month, it has today announced it will make funds and Partner (employee) volunteers available to local groups using the I…

“Exciting biology” rewrites text books in uncovering plants’ high-fat diet for fungal benefactors

One of biology’s most charismatic relationships, credited with helping plants to colonise land more than 400 million years ago, has yielded a fundamental survival secret with implications for agricu…

Old apple varieties could provide important health benefits

Researchers from Cranfield University and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have constructed the metabolic fingerprint of British heritage apples and mainstream commercial varieties. This has highlighted…

East Malling to host global Horticulture Research Conference

The world’s leading plant scientists are set to gather for the Fourth International Horticulture Research Conference, taking place at NIAB EMR in East Malling, Kent, from 16th to 20th July 2017.…

Waitrose expands own vineyard by 50%

Waitrose is continuing its investment in the English and Welsh wine industry. In response to customer demand, the supermarket has planted 50% more vines at its own vineyard on the Leckford Estate in H…

Crop Professor joins Board of Directors for global food security organisation

A professor from the University of Reading has joined the board of a global food research and development charity, whose aim is to provide food security for billions of people around the globe. The Wo…

Cutting-edge research points the way to canker resistant parsnip varieties

Studies carried out by Warwick University‘s Dr Lauren Chappell, now an Elsoms plant pathologist, have identified the three main pathogens responsible for parsnip canker, providing a secure platf…

Rothamsted questions EU pesticide ban as chemicals industry eyes Brexit for breakthrough on bees

Maintaining production of many UK crops is at risk if neonicotinoids, the pesticides linked with harming bees, are more widely restricted or banned completely, says Rothamsted Research in a position s…

Developing smart food for a new generation – safe and secure, competitive and sustainable

“Fresh thinking plus global science yields lasting benefit.” It’s the modern mantra of the world’s oldest research institute for agricultural science, which today launches an ambitious vision …

A sustainable food supply chain

Scientists and Waitrose suppliers are coming together to share best practice to help create a sustainable global supply chain in fruit and veg. They are meeting as part of the Waitrose Farm Assessment…

Report outlines how climate change will affect gardeners

The ‘perfect’ English garden could become a thing of the past thanks to climate change, scientists at the University of Reading have warned as a new report is published. The far-ranging Gardening…