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Improving wheat yield and quality by optimising crop management strategies

Summary of the impact

University of Nottingham (UoN) research into optimum plant populations and lodging in wheat has led to advances in agronomic practices for winter wheat in the UK, in particular changes in the way that seed rates are calculated (by number, rather than weight) to establish optimum plant populations. Most significantly, growers and agronomists now have an improved understanding of the crop characteristics that affect wheat lodging risk and have made changes to crop management to minimise the problem. This has led to reduced incidence of lodging in the UK, thereby protecting yield and quality of UK's most important arable crop.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Soil Sciences
Biological Sciences: Plant Biology
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Crop and Pasture Production

Regulation and Growth of the Biopesticide Industry

Summary of the impact

This research represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Life Sciences and the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. The research focused on the commercialisation of biological pesticides or "biopesticides" - pest control agents from natural sources that are considered safer for humans and the environment than most conventional chemical pesticides and could potentially substitute for synthetic chemical pesticides. Biopesticide products can only be sold if they have been authorised by government regulators under UK and EU legislation. Prior to this research, only six biopesticide products had been commercialised in the UK. The research identified shortcomings in the UK biopesticide regulatory process and its associated policy network that acted as unnecessary barriers to the authorisation of biopesticides. A set of recommendations for an improved regulatory system was developed. The UK Pesticides Safety Directorate used the research to help implement a new scheme to facilitate the registration of biopesticides in the UK and therefore get more products to the market. The research was also used in 2008 to provide policy advice to the European Parliament on making greater use of biopesticides and other alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides and improving the way they are regulated. In a 2007 report by the Science Advisory Council of the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the work was highlighted as helping to facilitate the emergence of a new biopesticides sector in the UK. Since the research was started, there has been a 430% increase in the number of biopesticide products approved in the UK.

Submitting Institution

University of Warwick

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Crop and Pasture Production, Horticultural Production
Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

The development of foods with enhanced carotenoid contents

Summary of the impact

Carotenoids (e.g. β-carotene, provitamin A) are antioxidants which are essential in the human diet and which reduce the onset of chronic diseases. Research in the unit on the carotenoid pathway has provided the tools and strategies to deliver foods with increased levels of nutritional carotenoids. This has led to the production of novel food supplements and to Golden Rice (GR), a humanitarian product aimed at alleviating Vitamin A deficiency in the developing world. Field and intervention trials have shown that GR is effective and its production feasible. The research has led to beneficial impacts on health and welfare, international development, commerce, public understanding and education.

Submitting Institution

Royal Holloway, University of London

Unit of Assessment

Biological Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Biological Sciences: Genetics, Microbiology, Plant Biology

1k. Discovery that Ramularia collo cygni causes leaf spotting in barley and development of a diagnostic to target fungicide use, saving the industry £5.4M per annum

Summary of the impact

Impact: Economic: The first fungicide-based control schemes minimising UK barley yield losses (saving approx. 516K tonnes / £95.1M per annum). A risk assessment method, which minimised pesticide usage.

Significance: Barley is the second most popular cereal crop grown in the UK — in 2012, 5.52 million tonnes of barley were grown (market value £1.02 billion). The research led to savings to the UK farming industry of ~£5.4 million per annum

Beneficiaries: Farmers, malting and brewing industries, UK tax revenue.

Attribution: Drs. Oxley, Havis, Hughes, Fountaine, and Burnett (SRUC) identified the pathogen and produced a field test for early identification of infestation.

Reach: Barley growing, malting and brewing sectors, seed and agrochemical industries UK-wide and in Ireland.

Submitting Institutions

University of Edinburgh,SRUC

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Biological Sciences: Genetics, Plant Biology
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Crop and Pasture Production

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