A change in English law now allows certain gene-edited crops to be grown on commercial farms. Tech Farmer visits the scientists working with a new farmer-led platform that will make the first three introductions. Rarely would you find so many misfits in the same place. Looking closely you can see spikelets within a wheat ear …
Wild plants could hold the genetic key to a step change in productivity across major agricultural crops. Tech Farmer visits the labs of a new start-up that’s sifting through the genomes.
New legislation now allows the growing of certain gene-edited crops in England. Professor Jonathan Jones, group leader at The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, calls for a fresh approach to rules preventing the cultivation of GM crops. But Roger Kerr, chief executive at Organic Farmers & Growers urges caution over moves into new genetic technologies.
The discovery of a grass that makes its own antibiotics may have wide-reaching implications for restoring soil health and improving water quality. Tech Farmer considers the implications of the trait for UK wheats. There’s a type of grass that thrives in the tropical pastures of Colombia that confounded scientists for decades. Brachiaria has been dubbed …
When it comes to growing cash crops, most farmers will spend plenty of time choosing the right varieties with traits that suit a farm’s physical and management characteristics. However, many growers are sold cover crops by species, with little or no additional information to demonstrate their suitability for different enterprises, soils or rotations. As one …
Last week I was at an event where inspiring farmers – in this case Nick Down, David Miller, and Nik Renison – showcased, with the pictures to prove it, some of the brilliant innovations they have pioneered on their farms. And they really were inspiring, with a palpable buzz in the full-house audience as they …
The first phase of a major review of the Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (RL) is taking place this winter. Initially, people are being asked to complete a questionnaire as part of efforts to improve the variety trialling project. The announcement follows a strong endorsement of the RL by levy payers in spring 2022, …
Major review of the AHDB Recommended Lists gets underway Read More »
Written by Keith Nicholson Despite catchy August weather that has left many farmers with the usual harvest headaches there have been some notable performances from several new varieties being grown for the first time, including two new winter barley varieties, that have exceeded the current AHDB winter barley yield estimates of 6.8-7.2t/ha reported to date …
Impressive Yields From New Varieties Despite Stop-Start Harvest Read More »
With losses in agrochemistry continuing, more variable growing conditions predicted and the need to move to moresustainable production, individual choices around seed will have an increasingly important impact on crop productionefficiency, industry specialists believe. The most important day of a crop’s life is the day the seed is sown and this is likely to be …
Results and Discussions – Spring Assessments The above table shows different crop traits that can be easily measured around stem extension, a key growth stage signalling the end of the Foundation Phase and the start of the Construction Phase. Several of the traits relate to crop vigour in the spring, which is desirable for organic …
Field Lab: Organic Wheat Varieties Part 2 – The Results Read More »
