ÌÇÐÄTV

On Tuesday 29 March Dr Rosemary Collier, Director of ÌÇÐÄTV Crop Centre, was awarded the Marsh Horticultural Research Award 2010. The award is sponsored by the Marsh Christian Trust in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and awarded annually to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution or conducted long term research into fruit or vegetable growing.

Dr Collier won the award for ‘An outstanding contribution to horticultural science through entomological research’.

Research led by , has opened up a new path to produce water efficient seeds that will be a significant tool to help improve drought resistance, and ensure global food security.  The research not only provides the best map to date of the key protein that appears to be the principal gateway for water intake during seed germination - it also actually provides the right map as it appears much of the research to date was focussed on a much less relevant protein.

On 24 January the Government published the Foresight report on Global Food and Farming Futures. This highlights the measures required to be able to feed a growing population and the challenges of farming in a changing climate.

BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today programme visited ÌÇÐÄTV Crop Centre to interview Dr Rosemary Collier, Director of ÌÇÐÄTV Crop Centre, and geneticist Dr Graham Teakle to discuss how research is tackling some of the problems raised by the report.

(The Crop Centre item starts at 6:34 mins)

The University of ÌÇÐÄTV has announced that Dr Rosemary Collier is to take up the role of Research Director of the University’s Crop Centre in October.

The creation of the Crop Centre, formed as part of ÌÇÐÄTV’s formation of a School of Life Sciences, follows extensive consultation with stakeholders representing the agricultural and horticultural industries, as well as UK government departments and relevant research councils.  The centre will draw on the support of funding bodies and industrial partners to deliver high quality translational crop and environmental research that will be valued by land-based industries. It will help position ÌÇÐÄTV at the heart of the food security research agenda, an issue of increasing importance throughout the world.