Event news: May 2012

CPPS-sponsored events:

EPSO "Plant Power" event – summary

On Sat, 19th MAY, CPPS led event, Fascination of plants – Plant power was held at the University Botanical Gardens.

Several hundred visitors of all ages came through on the day and were engaged, educated and entertained with a variety of hands-on activities and displays organised by CPPS members. Visitor participation was high and there is a notable interest from exhibitors in running similar events in the future. A more detailed summary including photographs from the day will be published on the CPPS website in due course.

Next CPPS-sponsored events:

THU 28th JUNE: Breakthrough technology: crops for the future

NIAB Innovation farm, 9:30 – 16:30

This joint NIAB Innovation Farm - CPPS event will explore the contribution of new technology such as hybrids and C4 photosynthesis. The morning session will consist of presentations and single slide poster pitches before heading out to view NIAB Innovation Farm field and glasshouse exhibits.

To find out more visit www.innovationfarm.co.uk. To book visit www.niab.com/shop. ONLY £36 (inc VAT).

If you are interested in presenting a one-slide pitch, have material that you would like to display at the workshop or have ideas for inclusion in the 2013 programme please contact kate.parsley@niab.com.

General events:

WED & THUR 13th & 14th JUNE – Cereals event

Boothby Graffoe, near Leadenham, Lincolnshire
Many CPPS members will be exhibiting at Cereals which is the leading technical event for the UK arable industry with over 64ha of stands and live demonstrations by over 470 leading suppliers and up to 30,000 visitors.
Further information

TUE 19th JUNE - Cultivating food quality (Sponsored by PBL & Seminis)

Visitor centre, NIAB, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0LE, 10.00-16.00
Find out how demand for crops with a range of end-use properties is driving breeders to explore inherent quality traits such as protein type, starch quality, high milling yield and resistance to pre-harvest sprouting.
Further information
To book a place at this event: www.niab.com/shop/item/177
NIAB Innovation Farm is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), industry and academic partners.

TUE 19th JUNE - ADAS Rosemaund Open Day - Focus on Weed Control & Identification

Burnt House Grain Store, Gatsford, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7QW (on A449 not far from Ross), 12:00-16:00
FREE event/Hog Roast
Further information

TUE 26th JUNE – Insect Supersense

Rothamsted Conference Centre, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, start 19:30
'How insects use odours to find mates and food and how we can make use of this.' Part of 'National Insect Week'.
Further information

Partner news: May 2012

Science and industry club together to deliver better crops

Three CPPS members have new industry-relevant crop science projects funded as part of the Crop Improvement Research Club (CIRC)

The research is aimed at delivering improvements to the main UK cereal crops - oilseed rape, barley and wheat - so boosting efforts to ensure food security. Nine projects were funded overall - together, they represent an investment of over £4M by BBSRC, the Scottish Government and 14 companies including plant breeders, farmers and food processors.

The three projects by CPPS members are:

• Professor Andy Greenland, NIAB - Production of wheat lacking B-type starch granules
• Professor Peter Shewry, Rothamsted Research - The role of lipids in determining gas bubble retention in wheat dough
• Dr Richard Whalley, Rothamsted Research - Phenotyping root function in wheat

Further information

JOHN INNES CENTRE: Fine mapping wheat genes

Researchers at the John Innes Centre have shown how next generation sequencing techniques can be used in mapping genes more quickly and efficiently than has been possible before.
Further information

ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH: Launch of globally unique farm research platform

A new 'Farm Platform', launched at Rothamsted Research North Wyke in Devon, aims to help farmers to optimise productivity in ways that are sustainable, whilst at the same time understanding the impact of farming methods on the environment. It will bring together scientists from across disciplines and countries to spark new ideas to meet the food security challenge.
Further information

RREs: Plant perfumes woo beneficial bacterial

Scientists at Rothamsted Research have discovered that maize crops emit chemical signals which attract growth-promoting microbes to live amongst their roots. This is the first chemical signal that has been shown to attract beneficial bacteria to the maize root environment. By deepening our understanding of how cereals interact with microorganisms in the soil their research aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to increase cereal yields sustainably to feed a growing world population.
Further information

RRes: Attack on Aphid-resistant wheat trial

An intruder attempted to break into RREs experimental trial on Sunday, 20th May, causing property damage but failing to disrupt the experiment. The individual responsible has been arrested and charged by Police.
Further information

Funding April 2012

Two TSB / DEFRA competitions

Innovation for growth in agriculture, food and drink

Open date: 16 April 2012
Registration close date: 23 May 2012
Close date: 30 May 2012

The Technology Strategy Board and Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are to invest up to £500k to help stimulate and promote innovation in the agriculture and the food and drink sectors. This feasibility competition is specifically targeted at micro, small and medium-sized companies and aims to encourage better and more cost effective systems and processes and delivery of better products and services.

Grants will be available to support the rapid development of an innovative idea and demonstrate its practical feasibility in the agricultural (including horticulture) and food and drink sectors.

This competition is open to micro, and small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Projects must be business-led and may be undertaken by the business alone or with one other business. Projects should last between three and six months. Grants will be available for up to 100% of the cost and will not exceed £25k.

The application process includes a two-minute video submission and a written submission.

For details see http://www.innovateuk.org/content/competition/innovation-for-growth-in-agriculture-food-and-drin.ashx.

Food processing and manufacturing efficiency

Open date: 11 June 2012
Registration close date: 11 July 2012
Close date: 18 July 2012

The Technology Strategy Board, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Scottish Government are to invest up to £15m in collaborative research and development to encourage an increase in efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness in the food processing and manufacturing sector.

Rising costs and increased regulation around greenhouse gas emissions and waste pose a significant challenge to the industry. This competition aims to encourage more efficient food processing, packaging and distribution in retail and food service sectors and the efficient recycling of manufacturing by-products and waste.

Proposals must be collaborative and business-led. Successful projects will generally attract up to 50% public funding. We are likely to award grants of between £100k and £2.5m, although projects larger than this are eligible to apply.

For full details see http://www.innovateuk.org/content/competition/food-processing-and-manufacturing-efficiency1.ashx.

Partner News April 2012

British Society of Plant Breeders £50,000 donation to transform farmers' lives in Kenya

The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) is donating £50,000 to FARM-Africa to support a two-year project in Kenya. The project will work with 1500 local farmers to improve the quality and supply of drought tolerant seeds. This in turn will boost local food security and the incomes for farmers’ families, benefitting 9000 people.

BSPB chief executive Dr Penny Maplestone explained that the decision to support the project was made possible by the success of last year’s International Seed Federation (ISF) World Seed Congress, which was hosted by BSPB in Belfast.

"The ISF World Seed Congress 2011 offered a unique opportunity to welcome the world's seed industry to the UK, and the record attendance in Belfast reflects a growing recognition that innovation in the plant breeding and seeds sector will be a key factor in addressing the global challenges of food security and climate change. We are therefore delighted that surplus revenue from the Congress has enabled BSPB to support the vital work of FARM-Africa in helping smallholder farmers to access the benefits of improved varieties and better quality seeds," said Dr Maplestone.

Read the full story at www.bspb.co.uk/newsarticle_2012_farmafrica.html.

Rothamsted Research: Aphid-resistant wheat trial begins

Scientists from Rothamsted Research are conducting a controlled experiment, combining modern genetic engineering with their knowledge of natural plant defences, to test whether wheat that can repel aphids works in a farm setting. Aphids are unwelcome visitors that drain sap from plants. They cause significant damage to agriculture and reduce farmers' yields by damaging crops and spreading plant diseases.

Prof Maurice Moloney, Head of Rothamsted Research, says: "This is a critical experiment to begin Rothamsted's investigation of second generation GM technologies which focus upon naturally occurring deterrents of pests and diseases. We believe that using GM as a tool to emulate natural defence mechanisms provides a unique and world-leading approach that will also benefit the environment."

Read the full story at http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Content.php?Section=AphidWheat.

Breakthrough technology: crops for the future 28 June

THU 28th JUNE
NIAB Innovation farm, 9:30 – 16:30

In collaboration with the Cambridge Partnership for Plant Sciences (CPPS) this workshop will explore the contribution of new technology such as hybrids and C4 photosynthesis. The morning session will consist of four presentations and single slide speed pitches from researchers. If you are interested in delivering a speed pitch, please contact Claire Pumfrey: claire.pumfrey@niab.com.

To book your place visit http://www.niab.com/shop; for more details visit www.innovationfarm.co.uk.

Bioenergy Meeting 27 April

All welcome: please contact Dr Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley if attending so we have an idea of numbers

External Speaker: Dr Calliope Panoutsou, Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College (www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.panoutsou)

Biomass value chains for energy and materials: policy, economics & logistics

The talk will provide an outline of recent policies at EU27 (and a recent assessment for the NREAP bio-targets, which countries will and which will not reach them and why), as well as a detailed analysis of economics and logistics and how they can affect the biomass integration into heat, electricity and transport sectors (which are the key cost areas).

Internal Speaker: Dr Xiaoyu Yan, PDRA Energy Group (head: Adam Boies), Dept of Engineering (www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~xy255/)

UK biofuels – friend or foe?

The uncertainty in carbon intensity of UK wheat ethanol

Biofuels are frequently cited to save the day when all other technical options combined look insufficient to bring about the desired emission reduction in the transport sector. However, numerous and often significant sources of uncertainties exist in biofuel life cycles. How confident are we in estimating the emission reduction potentials of different biofuels given these uncertainties? Using UK wheat ethanol as a case study, we illustrate the quantification of uncertainties in life cycle emissions via stochastic modelling and compare the results with those from traditional deterministic life cycle analyses.

Plant power, 19 May

To kill and to cure, to make and to mend, to bewitch and beware, discover
The Power of Plants
as the Botanic Garden hosts first Fascination of Plants Day on
Saturday 19 May 2012

Plants have a unique talent: the ability to gather energy from the sun’s rays travelling through space to synthesise their own food. This is the foundation of all other life on earth, from the oxygen in our lungs to the medicines that keep us healthy. They’re also some of the most stunning organisms on the planet, and the most varied, adapted to every ecological niche across every continent.

On Saturday 19 May, plant scientists, biochemists, horticulturists and representatives from the plant science industries will gather at the Botanic Garden to share with visitors the power of plants for the first international Fascination of Plants Day. Demonstrations and activities will run from 10.30am: science experiments will include balloons inflated by gases released by fermenting plants, children can dress up as bees to collect nectar from giant flowers to learn about pollination and there’ll be quizzes to match the product to the plant. Plus the chance to test a laser remote sensing system – the latest tool in forest conservation.

The living world is a rich source of chemicals with many medicines, dyes, flavourings and foodstuffs having their origins in compounds produced by plants. Ampika Ltd, an ethical enterprise spinout of the University of Cambridge, will be bringing a display about medicinal plants, including a new anaesthetic gel derived from a plant found in the Peruvian rainforest, which is currently under trial as a pain-relief treatment for toothache. The Botanic Garden and Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre will also be launching a new Chemicals in Plants trail that identifies some of the poisonous, beneficial (and occasionally both!) chemicals produced by plants.

Launched under the umbrella of the European Plant Science Organisation, the Fascination of Plants Day held at the Botanic Garden on 19 May will be a day of interactive plant fun and demos that will also highlight the critical role plant science plays in the social, environmental and economic landscape now and into the future. The event is co-organised by the Cambridge Partnership for Plant Science, a consortium that connects cutting-edge research undertaken in the region with the business community that develops plants for application in food, energy and other material uses.

More information