Funds of £250,000 are available for five research projects looking to tackle diseases and pests which threaten UK crops.
Researchers are now being invited to submit proposals for five projects each worth up to £50,000.
The work will tackle priority pests and diseases identified by the horticultural sector, such as the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and downy mildew.
Horticulture faces significant challenges from new threats like ToBRFV which the sector saw in the UK for the first time this year.
The pilot scheme, launched by AHDB and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), aims to generate data and outputs which are directly aligned to industry need that could lead to longer-term research programmes and enable access to other funding opportunities.
Dr Nikki Harrison, Horticulture Senior Scientist at AHDB, said: “This new partnership will secure additional funding for the industry to complement our own research and respond to high priority crop threats.
“As an industry, we urgently need to develop new crop protection solutions to future-proof UK horticultural crop production, and by developing funding partnerships, we can markedly enhance our crop protection research programme for our growers.”
The research projects will be awarded through a competitive process that includes an open call and will be assessed by an expert panel of scientists and industry representatives.
Proposals will address key pests and diseases, shortlisted by the industry, to test approaches and develop strategies to improve understanding, management and control.
