UK leek growers pin hopes on genetics amid rising crop pressures

UK leek growers are racing to futureproof production against climate volatility, rising costs and shrinking crop protection options — with plant genetics increasingly viewed as the sector’s best defence.

Cambridgeshire grower Patrick Allpress said the long-term viability of UK leek production would depend on how quickly farming, technology and crop breeding could evolve together in response to mounting environmental and commercial pressures.

Wetter winters, rising disease pressure and increasingly unpredictable growing conditions are already creating major challenges for vegetable producers across the UK.

At the same time, growers are facing the continued loss of chemical crop protection products, tighter retailer specifications and rising production costs.

Mr Allpress, Farm Director at Allpress Farms, said adapting to those pressures had fundamentally changed the way the business operates.

The family-run farm, based in the Cambridgeshire fens, has been growing vegetables since 1965 and now farms more than 2,500 acres of onions, leeks, wheat, maize and hybrid rye.

With its own packing facility and around 100 full-time staff, the business supplies leeks to supermarkets nationwide.

“Being in the fens, we’re in the heartland of UK veg production,” Mr Allpress said.

While rooted in traditional fenland vegetable production, the business is increasingly relying on modern genetics, precision farming and sustainable growing systems to remain competitive.

One of the biggest operational changes has been a shift away from direct drilling towards a fully plant-based sowing system.

Mr Allpress said the move had been driven largely by the loss of seed treatments and growing concerns over seedling vulnerability and weed pressure.

“Seedlings are vulnerable and we’re finding that without these tools we’re losing more and more plants,” he said.

“By moving to a purely planting system, we will reduce risk.”

Although planting systems are more expensive, they shorten the time crops spend exposed in the ground, helping reduce disease pressure and pesticide use.

Soil health has also become central to the farm’s long-term sustainability strategy.

Digestate from the business’s anaerobic digester is being used to improve soil fertility, while cover crops and precision nutrient applications are helping maintain the peaty fenland soils that underpin allium production.

“Originally farms here would have been mixed and the organic content of soils was largely maintained through manure,” Mr Allpress explained.

“However, as farmers specialised, we’ve started taking more from soils than we’ve put back in.”

Alongside changes on farm, Mr Allpress believes advances in plant breeding and genetics will play a crucial role in securing the future of the leek sector.

Allpress Farms hosts commercial leek variety trials, allowing the business to assess new developments in disease resistance, flavour, yield and crop quality under real growing conditions.

“Genetics have a massive role to play,” he said.

The trials are focused on developing varieties better suited to modern retail requirements while improving resistance to diseases, thrips and pink stripe.

“Variety choice is crucial,” Mr Allpress said. “We are exploring those characteristics we want for the future.”

He added that gene editing and advanced breeding techniques could help speed up the development of hardier leek varieties capable of coping with future climate and disease pressures.

Disease management remains one of the sector’s biggest concerns.

Mr Allpress warned thrips and fusarium were becoming increasingly difficult to control as chemical options disappear from growers’ toolkits.

“One of the biggest challenges is the loss of chemistry,” he said. “Thrips and basal rot fusarium are particularly difficult to control.”

The farm now relies more heavily on forecasting systems, pest monitoring and naturally resistant varieties to manage disease pressure.

For organic production, varieties including Maxton, Bokston and Yeston are selected specifically for their natural resistance to thrips and yellow rust.

“When you’ve no crop protection products to help you get through our winters, which can be harsh, wet, and/or changeable, that resistance is crucial,” Mr Allpress said.

He also warned fusarium pressure in onions had worsened significantly in recent years.

“In recent years, fusarium in onions has been the worst it has ever been and nobody really knows why,” he said.

“Climate change, increases in cover crops, loss of crop protection products are probably all playing a role.”

Retail specifications are also increasingly shaping variety decisions.

“For us, it is predominantly, 80%, pre-pack, so we’re looking to produce two leeks that weigh 500g,” Mr Allpress said. “That means long leeks with good shaft length.”

Alongside yield and appearance, growers are placing growing emphasis on flavour, cleanability, packability and disease resistance.

Mr Allpress said the future of UK leek production would depend on how successfully farming, sustainability and genetics could adapt together as environmental and economic pressures continue to intensify.