News

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations have declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) and have called for organisations to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.

Much of the research in the School of Life Sciences is aimed at improving crop productivity and combating pests and diseases while conserving the environment in order to feed an increasing population.

Each month, for the remainder of the year, the Crop Centre will be presenting a new article to highlight some of this work that relates to IYPH 2020.

More information and to articles

New gene data suggests various plant diseases are becoming more infectious, but chemical losses are forcing researchers to think outside the box when looking for new ways of controlling them.

This Science Special article on disease control highlights the following horticultural research projects (that Warwick Crop centre is involved in) to help tackle some of these yield battering diseases:

• The Waitrose Collaborative Training Partnership as part of the academic community that links with leading fresh produce suppliers to find solutions for growers in the three main areas: sustainable crop production, sustainable soil and water, and biodiversity and ecosystems services in agriculture.
• A PhD project study with plant pathologist supervisor Dr John Clarkson examining integrated control of Sclerotinia disease in celery and lettuce with the aim of finding alternative control methods to pesticidies.
  The project is 'looking at the different strains of Sclerotinia in different places because they may be genetically different and may respond to different growing conditions in varying ways' Professor Rosemary Collier
• An AHDB SCEPTREplus research programme which aims to identify new products or adapt the application methods or timing of existing ones to control particulary problematic and high priority pests and diseases.
  'We've been having a lot of problems with bean seed fly because the most effective way of controlling it is with a seed treatment and there just aren't any new alternative available at the moment'...'We're looking at alternative approaches in trying to manage it such as leaving it longer before you sow the crop since the flies are very attracted to newly cultivated soil' Professor Rosemary Collier

Full article