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Help the James Hutton Institute shape the future of soft fruit research

Did you know products developed at the James Hutton Institute and its forebears are familiar names on supermarket shelves, including popular raspberry varieties such as Glen Ample and Glen Lyon? Also, were you aware of the fact that 50% of the world’s blackcurrant crop was developed by scientists in Dundee? Now you have a chance […]

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Life in the fast lane: how plants avoid traffic jams

Traffic jams are the curse of the commute, the scourge of the school run and the bane of Bank Holidays. But gridlocked motorists and students of traffic flow may soon be relieved and enlightened thanks to new research into plants. It has emerged that plants have it sorted when it comes to going with the […]

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Leading scientists call for unified approach to plant and animal breeding

Unifying the approaches to plant and animal breeding through the use of genomic selection is crucial to achieving global food security, according to a team of world leading scientists. In a paper published this week in the international journal Nature Genetics, scientists from NIAB, the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) assert that global collaboration and […]

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Hormonal tug-of-war helps plant roots navigate their journey through the soil, new international study finds

A sophisticated mechanism that allows plant roots to quickly respond to changes in soil conditions has been identified by an international research team. Scientists from the John Innes Centre and Sapienza University, Rome, combined mathematical and computer modelling with molecular genetics to show how roots can regulate their growth via the interactions of two antagonistic […]

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Photosynthesis breakthrough

Researchers have increased plant productivity by boosting levels of three proteins involved in photosynthesis, offering hope for improving food crops In field trials, the scientists saw 14–20% increases in the productivity of their modified tobacco plants, according to the new study published in the journal Science.

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Dramatic changes needed in farming practices to keep pace with climate change

Major changes in agricultural practices will be required to offset increases in nutrient losses due to climate change, according to research published by a scientific consortium including the James Hutton Institute. 

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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 project is to deliver applied research on high priority disease, pest and weed problems in fresh produce and ornamental crops in order to support approval of […]

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“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 agriculture and biotechnology. Plant scientists have discovered that a particular form of fungi, which invades plant roots and then helps the colonised plants to absorb nutrients from […]

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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. The Conference will bring together international researchers conducting fundamental research on horticultural crops, to showcase the latest research findings and to network with colleagues from around the world. […]

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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 platform for the development of disease-resistant lines. Elsoms, a global leader in parsnip breeding, is investing heavily in research, state-of-the art breeding techniques and seed production to bring […]

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