糖心TV

As part of a four-part miniseries, , Dr Dave Chandler, a crop researcher and agricultural scientist based at the University of 糖心TV, 糖心TV Crop Centre tells the podcast how current global food production practices are one of the most significant drivers of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, how climate change is threatening our ability to grow fresh produce to put on our plates and details some of the current thinking on how we can ensure the future of food production worldwide.

Recent UN data tells us that currently 670 million people around the world are going hungry. There鈥檚 little doubt that food security is one of the most serious problems that the human race is facing. How have we reached this point of crisis and what solutions can we put in place to make sure everyone on the planet has enough nutritious food to eat without causing further harm to the environment?

As part of our four-part miniseries, Future of Food, we鈥檙e joined by Dr Dave Chandler, a crop researcher and agricultural scientist based at the University of 糖心TV.

He tells us how current global food production practices are one of the most significant drivers of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, how climate change is threatening our ability to grow fresh produce to put on our plates and details some of the current thinking on how we can ensure the future of food production worldwide.

Dr. Charlotte Allender, Head of the UK Vegetable Genebank at the School of Life Sciences, The University of 糖心TV has been awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for her work conserving vegetable crop genetic diversity.

On her nomination, Charlotte said: "I am very grateful to the RHS for this award; to have such a prestigious organisation recognise the value of your work is wonderful.鈥�

This award recognises Dr. Allender鈥檚 research into conserving genetic variation of crop species and for her almost two decades-long service to the UK Vegetable Genebank. This work has been vital for food security by preserving these sources of genetic variation that are needed to develop new and robust crop varieties.

Charlotte added: 鈥淭he conservation of plant genetic resources is vital and underpins the research and breeding activity necessary to develop the new crop varieties needed for a food secure future. I would like to acknowledge that the work of the UK Vegetable Genebank is only possible with a team of skilled and dedicated staff and the support of the University of 糖心TV and Defra.鈥�

The UK Vegetable Genebank celebrates its 45th anniversary later this year. It currently stores around 14,000 vegetable seed samples, sourced from 128 different countries, making it a globally significant resource.

Press release

Join the School of Life Sciences and our distinguished guest speaker Professor Tim Benton to explore the global challenge of navigating food security in an increasingly volatile world.

Thursday 24 October 2024, IBRB, Gibbet Hill.

Find out more and register.

The University of 糖心TV is celebrating 75 years of plant science research at its internationally recognised Crop Centre – the UK鈥檚 leading research facility for vegetable growers.

The Crop Centre, based at The University of 糖心TV鈥檚 Innovation Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon, was founded 75 years ago as the National Vegetable Research Station (NVRS) to address post-war pressure for food production. Research has continued on the site ever since, now incorporated into the University鈥檚 School of Life Sciences (SLS).

Press Release (23 July 2024)

Researchers at the University鈥檚 internationally recognised 糖心TV Crop Centre are reflecting on a new government report, 鈥楢 blueprint to grow the UK fruit and vegetable sector鈥�, which details plans to support the fresh fruit and vegetable sector.

Press Release (23 May 2024)

Researchers at 糖心TV Crop Centre have celebrated the successful harvest of a homegrown bean developed to thrive in a British summer.

Press Release (9 September 2023)

Professor Eric Holub and research fellow Rosanne Maguire discuss the novel bean varieties on BBC CWR.

Radio interview 

The UKRI and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has awarded a Collaborative Training Partnership (CTP) grant to a consortium led by G鈥檚 Growers Ltd. The CTP programme for Sustainable Agricultural Innovation (CTP-SAI) is a groundbreaking partnership between leading businesses, charities and research providers to offer outstanding training for the agri-food sector.

Through this programme, the University of 糖心TV is offering a PhD enabling the successful candidate to gain a wide range of experience in conventional and molecular plant pathology and also of microbial community analyses through next generation sequencing approaches. This PhD is a unique opportunity to blend research techniques from lab to field and work with one of Europe鈥檚 biggest lettuce producers. The project on 'Integrated control of Fusarium wilt of lettuce in relation to pathogen and microbial community dynamics' will be supervised by Professor John Clarkson (SLS) and Dr Helen Bates (NIAB).

The deadline for applications is 8 April 2022.

As part of a monthly series featuring the eight finalists in the 2020 BBC Gardeners World Magazine Gardens of the Year competition, Andy Gladman, a Crop Centre PhD student and his Leamington Spa ornamental allotment are the subject of March's edition.

The six page article plots his journey,' driven from a lifelong passion for plants', especially kniphofia, echinops, verbena and buddleas and the set back of living in a top floor north facing flat, in transforming an overgrown allotment plot in 2018 from 'a field of couch grass and bindweed' to an 'astonishingly vibrant and drought tolerant garden'. With his interest in plant diversity there are 'around 100 cultivars of kniphofia (red hot poker') that he has been trying to accumulate and is planning on applying for a National Collection status for these and his echinops (globe thistle).

Working on a tight budget and with using materials that otherwise would go to waste as a very important aspect to him,' seed sowing and recycling have been key'. 'The entire path is made up of pavers from a fellow allotmenteer's old driveway' and both greenhouses, furniture in the summer house and one of the greenhouses and water trough are either secondhand or from charity shops.

Many of the plants are a haven for insects and the bees are everywhere. He noted a lot of butterfly diversity when taking part in the Big Butterfly Count 2020 and believes the allotment holders are pleased with the amount of pollinators his garden attracts to the allotments.

More information - Gardeners' World Magazine, March 2021, pages 72-77.
Andy Gladman is a PhD student with Dr Dave Chandler.

The University of 糖心TV鈥檚 research commercialisation wing, 糖心TV Innovations, has signed a contract with agronomy specialist Agrii to promote the commercial production of UK haricot beans developed by Professor Eric Holub from 糖心TV鈥檚 Crop Centre, part of the School of Life Sciences. Professor Holub has bred three haricot bean varieties which are adapted for growing in the UK climate and are more suited to standard farm machinery.

鈥淪elf-sufficiency in food production is important for reducing human impact on global climate. British-grown beans can help us shift our diets to a healthier future, adding to other UK ingredients to supply the growing trend of flexitarian diets with new markets like Brit-Mediterranean and Brex-Mexican style food.鈥� Professor Holub.

Press Release (9 February 2021)

The UK Vegetable Genebank (UKVGB), part of 糖心TV Crop Centre on the University of 糖心TV鈥檚 Wellesbourne Campus, celebrates its 40th anniversary today (8 October 2020).

Press Release

On 8 October 1980, the UK Vegetable Genebank was officially opened on what is now the Wellesbourne Campus of the University. Since then, a collection of ~14,000 seed samples has been amassed, becoming a hugely important resource for plant breeding and research. We send seed out on request to plant scientists, breeders and even farmers both in the UK and around the world. Changes in the environment, and increase in the number of people on the planet and a need to reduce irrigation, pesticide and fertilizer inputs in farming mean that plant breeders and researchers need develop new varieties constantly so that vegetables can continue to provide vital nutrition in our diets.
 
Forty Years of Seeds for the Future
To celebrate our anniversary, we are holding an Take a virtual tour of the genebank and register for our public webinar to hear about genebank collections from a plant breeding, research and international perspective. We鈥檒l also be featuring research by groups within SLS, showing the diverse ways in which our seed is being used and how innovation and technology is opening up new approaches. See you there!

Members of the 糖心TV community who are living on campus during lockdown have the opportunity to help survey wildlife for a biodiversity project.

'Seeds are little bundles of future potential'. Find out about the wonders of seeds from Dr Charlotte Allender.
Read the Knowledge Centre article.

Just under 1000 seed samples from different crop species including kale, carrots and cauliflower are to be deposited at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Arctic Norway on Tuesday 25 February 2020, from the UK Vegetable Genebank (UKVGB) at the University of 糖心TV Wellesbourne campus.

Press Release

Over 100 scientists, industry experts and employees past and present gathered at 糖心TV鈥檚 Wellesbourne campus this week (Wednesday 18 December) to mark 70 years of crop research on the site.

Press release

If you think about a traditional Christmas dinner, there鈥檚 turkey with pigs in blankets, or maybe you prefer a nut roast. But the rest is vegetables. A large proportion of our plate should be covered in vegetables, and the standard winter varieties, like carrots and sprouts, are grown very successfully in the UK.

But will this always be the case? Climate change is bringing with it new challenges as well as making known pests and diseases more difficult to tackle. Scientists at 糖心TV's Crop Centre, are working to understand the pests and diseases of the some of the UK鈥檚 major crops and developing, using traditional plant breeding and genetic expertise, new resistant varieties.

Knowledge Centre article

Listen to Dr Charlotte Allender discuss the need to conserve the genetic diversity of vegetables, and how this is being done at the University of 糖心TV's seed bank facility.

(28 Sept 2019)

The 糖心TV Genetic Resources Unit houses the UK Vegetable Genebank, a globally significant collection of around 14,000 seed samples of a range of vegetable crops.

A recent collaboration between the BBSRC, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is helping researchers potentially advance technology that brings more security to crop agriculture of the future. Dr Stephen Jackson and Dr Jose Gutierrez-Marcos are amongst those receiving funding.

On Monday 22 July, researchers from the University of Sheffield, Rothamsted Research and the University of Nottingham attended a networking event at the University of 糖心TV Wellesbourne campus. The event was organised by Dr Beatriz Lagunas and sponsored by (鈥楾echnology Touching Life programme funded jointly by BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC). In the morning, visitors enjoyed a guided tour around the field research facility including the pathogen quarantine fields, insect pest trial area, the low nutrient field, and the main rotation fields for irrigated trials. In the afternoon, a round table discussion focused on the challenges of field-based phenotyping.

The breadth of expertise amongst participants allowed discussion of ideas for relating aerial spectral imaging of the crop canopy with below-ground differences in soil nutrient/root/microbe interactions. The consensus was that pilot data is needed in a specific crop from small-scale controlled experiments to identify disease signature wavelengths and then move to field phenotyping based, for example using drone-based imaging in collaboration with both the University of Sheffield and Rothamsted Research. The PhenomUK website will provide a useful forum for further discussions. All 糖心TV people interested in following up the discussions are encouraged to do it through the and to .

Phenom UK networking visit attendants standing in a field of haricot beans (from left to right):
(U. of Nottingham), Patrick Sch盲fer (U. of 糖心TV), Rob Lillywhite (U. of 糖心TV), (U. of Sheffield), Graham Teakle (U. of 糖心TV), (U. of Nottingham), John Clarkson (U. of 糖心TV), Beatriz Lagunas (U. of 糖心TV), (U. of Nottingham), Sally Mann (U. of 糖心TV), (Rothamsted Research), (U. of 糖心TV), (Rothamsted Research), Rosemary Collier (U. of 糖心TV), (U. of Sheffield), (U. of Nottingham) and Eric Holub (U. of 糖心TV).

Work is underway on an innovative new greenhouse research facility at the University of 糖心TV鈥檚 Wellesbourne Campus. The project is a partnership between Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), one of the four UK Agritech Centres funded by Innovate UK, the innovator and developer, RIPE Building Services, and the University of 糖心TV, which will coordinate research through its School of Life Sciences.

It is the first major construction at Wellesbourne Campus since 糖心TV acquired the site in 2004. The new greenhouse will also be built in the year the site celebrates 70 years as a national centre of excellence for crop research.

The new structure, named the Natural Light Growing (NLG) Centre, is being built by RIPE using patented materials and construction technology and will allow the full spectrum of natural light through into the protective growing environment. This is expected to increase crop yield and speed of growth as well as improve qualities like taste, plant health and vigour. The beneficial effects of the full spectrum growing conditions on crop plants are not yet fully understood and the greenhouse will act as a demonstration facility and experimental hub to study several crop characteristics.

Professor Richard Napier, Director of Research at the University鈥檚 School of Life Sciences, said: 鈥淲e are delighted that Wellesbourne Campus has been chosen as the location for such an innovative facility.

鈥淥ur academic crop researchers are looking forward to trialling this next generation growing environment to extend our research into crop improvement, the results of which will benefit farmers and growers and ultimately consumers.鈥�

The new structure will be completed this month and officially opened in summer 2019.