Transcript UK horticulture sector – research targets and needs, roles

All-Party Parliamentary Group on
Science and Technology in Agriculture
UK horticulture sector – research targets and needs,
roles of collaborative R&D
Horticulture - Fruit R&D Overview
Christopher Atkinson, HoS
East Malling Research
Land-based industry, science and technology
(‘EMR industry owned’ since 1913)
Drivers
Drivers
Drivers
Government policy
EU legislation
Climate change
Diet and health
Protecting the environment
Food production/security
Reduction of waste
Industry economics
Customer policy
Economics
‘EMR commercial’
Support for EMR Science
Germplasm
collections
Functional
genomics
BASIC
Plants
Growing systems
Added value
Evaluation
Fingerprinting
Molecular markers
Shelf-life
Environment stress
P&D resistance
Agronomy and nutrition
Minimising waste
Cropping systems
P&D
Irrigation scheduling
Organic production
Novel crops
Extension/Consultancy
EM Commercial
New varieties
Insect pheromones
Improved varieties
High health fruit
STRATEGIC
APPLIED
EMR’s financial history
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Pre-independence income 2003 £4.8 million (2.8 Defra)
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Independent from Defra 2004
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6-year Guarantee of contracts from Defra (2007/8 - £2.4 million
- 2010 £0)
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Major customers in 2009 – Defra (57%), commercial (13%),
Hort. Devel. Comp. (12%), East Malling Trust for Horticultural
Research (11%)
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Horticulture-LINK funding - £130k to £780k p.a. (18 projects)
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New sources of revenue: non-science income up from £700k to
£1,260k p.a.
Why is fruit R&D important?
• Healthy diets
5-a-day campaign, ‘Food dudes’, diet related
heart disease, cancers, obesity, diabetes, NHS
rising costs
• Poor level of fruit consumption generally
• 10% home grown supply and falling
• UK Food security/supply/sustainability
• Climate change – challenges/opportunities
EMR impacts – variety development
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Released 47 fruit tree rootstocks, 22 apple scion var., 4 pears, 2
plums, 3 cherries, 10 hops, 24 raspberries, 28 strawberries, and
others
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Resistance to diseases and pests or low-input or organic
systems
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Developed the first genetic map for strawberry (Fragaria) using
transferable molecular markers
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Genomic understanding for Prunus, apple, strawberry and
raspberry
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EMR has pioneered molecular route to identify floral
incompatibility in Prunus and apple
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Sales of EMR strawberry var. currently average
20 million plants per annum
EMR impacts – crop protection
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Pest and disease resistance crop varieties
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Development and evaluation of alternative and novel
pest and diseases control strategies
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Predictive pest and disease forecasting models
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Delivery of minimal pesticide dose
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Residue free food products
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Development and delivery of grower best practice
EMR impacts – crop irrigation
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Water savings of 85%
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‘Low risk’ scheduling strategies
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Targeted nutrition reduced environmental pollution
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Improved product quality from deficit irrigation
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Manipulating fruit nutrition
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Enhanced shelf-life
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Understanding control and stress induced plant
responses
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Reduced pesticide use
EMR impacts – waste reduction
Increasing the % of Class 1 fruit
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Breeding varieties
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Growing systems (nutrition/irrigation)
•
Minimising pest and disease damage
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Application of technology
Reducing losses post-harvest
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Management of ripening
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Control atmosphere storage
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Reducing impact of pathogens
Consumers
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Improved home based storage
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Better consumer advice
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Working with retailers
‘LINK type’ funding
a good model for collaborative R&D ?
Some EMR - LINK statistics
Attracts financial support from industry (direction and
participation)
•
HDC input £172k (in 2009)
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Total current HDC input £849k
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Total current value £8.8 million (cash £5.7 million)
Allows for the development of consortia of stakeholders
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33 grower partners
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82 non-grower industry partners
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22 science/academic partnerships
What are the positives and
negatives of current LINK
Positives
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Industry lead programmes (to a point)
Solves commercial/business problems
Includes strategic underpinning elements of science
Potential to bring together business and all the research community
Realistic time frames and deliverables
Flexible interactive development of R&D during the project
Negatives
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Proposal preparation comes at a significant cost which is not claimable
The funding process in considered slow (industry)
Mixture of industry and science deliverables (challenge)
Requires significant industry funds
Universal problem of parties with vested interests
What is the future?
Ps. TSB Sustainable Agriculture and Food, initiative –
‘New Approaches to Crop Protection’
Key challenges for the future
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Crop protection
•
Water availability, it use and efficiency
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Fertiliser use and efficiency (particularly nitrogen
and phosphorus)
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Waste reduction (throughout the supply chain)
•
Climate change (opportunities)
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Energy supply and use (alternatives, biomass,
biochar etc)
•
Labour availability and reducing labour costs
Conclude – issues and priorities?
Key points
• UK ‘Food industry’ R&D is good, value for money and is
required
• Decline in university agricultural/horticulture research
• Training, skills and expertise, all stages and levels setting up funding incentives?
• Joined-up R&D, BBSRC, Defra, HDC – getting there?
• Balance/flow of R&D, basic – strategic – applied
(delivery to consumers)
• Long-term research investment in programmes
• Resources required – capital investment (government)
• Production efficiency - research elements
• Suitability of TSB as effective HortLINK replacement?
Enhancing the quality of hardy nursery stock
and sustainability of the industry through
novel water-saving techniques (HL0168)
Denton Automation Ltd.
Developing biocontrol methods and their integration in
sustainable pest and disease management in plum and
cherry production (HL0189)
OH
IPDM programme
O
Damson hop
aphid sex
pheromone
Brown rots
(cis-cis nepetalactol)
Plum fruit moth
Light brown apple moth
Aphids
Collaborators: NRI, Uni. Kent and Chem Ecology
Development of physiological and agronomic
tools for increasing the L-ascorbic acid (AsA)
yield from blackcurrant bushes (MRS/003/02)
Ascorbic acid concentration
(mg g-1)
2.5
2.0
decreasing
nitrogen
application
N1
N2
N3
N4
N5
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
'Baldwin'
'Hedda'
Cultivar and nitrogen treatment