Fellowships focus on future research priorities
Five new Horticultural Research Fellowships worth a total of £1.25 million over five years have been announced following a collaboration between the East Malling Trust (EMT), Horticultural Development Company (HDC) and the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA).
The collaboration of EMT, HDC and HTA is an innovative bid to support to UK horticulture R&D, which is currently grappling with cutbacks in funding for applied research, and to encourage other organisations and businesses to do the same.
It is feared that public funding cutbacks are undermining research, which is essential for the industry if it is to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Furthermore, the UK as a whole needs the industry to ensure a viable future for food production and to provide the social, economic, environmental, health and wellbeing benefits from plants and the landscape.
Lord Selborne presented the awards to scientists and academics from ADAS, East Malling Research (EMR), Harper Adams and Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC) at Bradbourne House, East Malling, on Thursday, April 28.
He said: "These Fellowships will directly support important applied research and grow our industry’s knowledge and skills for the future. They demonstrate the partners’ commitment to the future success of the horticulture industry. By working together we can pool our resources and make a real difference.
"At this time when Government funding is under significant pressure, I would urge more bodies in the industry to work together on similar research fellowships and to cooperate commercially with businesses in our sector."
The five Fellowships are specifically focused on developing new industry expertise in plant pathology, entomology, weed control and crop production as well as expanding research programmes.
A trainee researcher in plant pathology and crop protection will be appointed at EMR. Ornamentals expertise will be strengthened at STC. Two young entomologists will be trained and mentored at ADAS initially focusing on Integrated Pest Management research. ADAS will also be developing horticultural weeds expertise that would otherwise soon disappear.
UK undergraduates and industry employees will also be involved in summer crop production applied research projects at Harper Adams University College to develop the next generation of technical staff
Will Sibley, EMT Chairman, said: "These Fellowships are enabling our industry to develop nationally significant work, and to facilitate the employment and mentoring of a new generation of science specialists."
Neil Bragg, Chairman of the HDC, said: "The awards are essential to ensure that we support the future development of essential applied scientists and to ensure that the work and experience of the existing scientists is not lost but developed for the future.
"The Fellowships have been made to try to cover essential skills which are threatened at present, such as weeds science, entomology, and ornamentals research.
"The collaboration between EMT, HDC & HTA is hopefully a model which other groups can follow or add to for the future."
David Gwyther, HTA Director General, said: "Outside of limited funds from the HDC the ornamentals sector has virtually no other support for applied research. The industry had to act now to prevent further decline and I am delighted that many of these fellowships will directly benefit the ornamentals industry."
The awarding of the five Fellowships follows an agreement signed between EMT, HDC and HTA at Fruit Focus 2010, held at EMR.
The partners have also agreed to support a number of unsuccessful Fellowship application projects to submit bids for funding from BBSRC, Technology Strategy Board, or HDC cross-panel funding.
The successful Research Fellowships announced by EMR, HDC and HTA are:
Dr Ross Cameron.
Optimising research investigations for the growth of innovative amenity lines
Ross Cameron, currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Reading, is planning to take up a post at Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC) in summer 2011. The fellowship will support the UK ornamental horticulture industry, strengthen the expertise of STC and help bolster the applied research platform across EMR and ADAS.
The research will focus on two themes of applied research:
• "pre-conditioning" of plug plants to promote new flowering lines
• optimising management of container stock such that efficiency of inputs is increased, and shelf-life is enhanced
Dr James Monaghan, Principal Lecturer at Harper Adams University College.
A summer research programme to develop the next generation of technical staff for UK horticultural industry
Under this fellowship, Dr Monaghan will develop and manage a summer research programme at Harper Adams, to deliver three to five applied agronomy/crop production research projects a year, involving UK undergraduates and industry employees. Focusing initially on field vegetables, the programme will be used to leverage additional funding with the aim that it will become self-funding by the end of the contract.
John Atwood, Senior Horticultural Consultant, ADAS Boxworth.
Weed control in ornamentals, fruits and vegetable crops – devising sustainable weed control strategies
At present, there are only two researchers actively working on weed control in horticultural crops in UK. John Atwood is one of them. This fellowship will mentor the next generation of horticultural consultants specialising in weed control within ornamentals, fruit and vegetables.
Jude Bennison, Senior Research Entomologist at ADAS Boxworth.
Maintaining the expertise for developing and communicating practical Integrated Pest Management solutions for horticulture
Under this fellowship, two "next-generation" young entomologists (one already in post with ADAS, one yet to be recruited) will be trained and mentored as specialist researchers of the future to conduct and communicate continuing IPM research. Research projects within the fellowship will include investigations on vine weevil control, and on several other pests of salad crucifers, strawberry and glasshouse crops.
Dr Angela Berrie, Senior Plant Pathologist at East Malling Research.
Succession planning to sustain UK’s expertise in plant pathology R&D
Dr Berrie is a highly respected plant pathologist, with 35 years of experience of plant pathogens and the diseases they cause. Under this fellowship East Malling Research (EMR) will appoint a young researcher to be trained and mentored by Dr Berrie and other members of EMR’s Crop Protection team. The trainee will become involved in a range of research projects, including control of apple powdery mildew, blackcurrant grey mould, brown rot on cherry and plum, Verticillium wilt on strawberry, and projects on diseases of stored fresh produce.