Food and Environment
Below is a selection of projects and networks our GRP has supported.
Are you working on a related project? Does your research cover the theme of food and environment? Get involved and join our research network today.
The UK Vegetable Genebank (UKVGB)
Genetic diversity in crops is essential to ensure we all have access to nutritious food now and in the future. The Genebank manages a collection of approximately 14,000 samples of vegetable crops such as cauliflower, carrot, kale and onions which are essential for a balanced and healthy diet.
Warwick Crop Centre
This is an internationally recognised centre for translational research in food security and sustainable agriculture and horticulture within the School of Life Sciences. We have specialist laboratory, field and glasshouse-based facilities to provide high quality science expertise in areas including crop breeding, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, crop nutrition and environmental research.
The AMBER project
Biopesticides are safe crop protection products based on micro-organisms, plant extracts and other natural compounds. AMBER aims to identify practical ways for growers to improve the performance of these products and plan their spray programmes better. We're working to improve spray applications, investigating how biopesticides affect pest population growth and studying biopesticide persistence on crop plants.
Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN)
VeGIN brings together research on key vegetable crops. The network encourages collaborations between industry and researchers to address how genetic improvement of crop varieties can contribute to a sustainable increase in food production. The aim is to meet the twin challenges of food security and climate change.
European Vegetable Research Institute Network (EUVRIN)
EUVRIN is a voluntary organisation of EU research institutes that specialise in research, development, and extension on vegetable production. A key objective is to establish and improve cooperation between vegetable R&D institutes and teams within Europe. The University of Warwick is a member of EUVRIN and Rosemary Collier is coordinator of the IPM Working Group.
FlyIPM
This European ERA-Net project is coordinated by Rosemary Collier. Its aim is to improve the management of root-feeding fly larvae infesting outdoor vegetable crops using an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. The project involves scientists from nine different research institutions across Europe all working to develop new tools for the IPM toolbox. This will benefit the environment and human health and improve farm income.