News article

Pioneering plant breeder John Bingham CBE, FRS yesterday (23 June) officially opened a new laboratory named after him at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Huntingdon Road, Cambridge.

Mr Bingham’s innovative approach to plant breeding contributed considerably to establishing winter wheat as the mainstay of UK crop production. Mr Bingham, who was based at the Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge for 40 years, lives in Norfolk where he farms.

A leading Australian scientist, Prof Geoff Fincher, described his pioneering research on functional genomics during a visit to the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge.

His study on plant cell walls could have considerable benefits for human health by reducing high cholesterol and some types of colon rectal cancers, as well as lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes. It could also lead to considerable savings on water in industrial uses.

Nickerson, a leading plant breeding and seed development company, was presented with the coveted NIAB Variety Cup 2008 for its winter barley Pearl at Cereals 2008.

The annual award is made by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany to the breeder of a variety that has demonstrated merit by making a major contribution to sustained crop productivity through improved quality, disease resistance and grower return.

Connecting Plant Science is the key theme of NIAB’s attendance at Cereals 2008 this week where skilled staff will demonstrate their innovative research and crop work.

The Cambridge-based Institute will again share a plot with the John Innes Centre from Norwich as collaborative projects form an integral part of their successful approach.

NIAB was pleased to welcome the Mayor of Cambridge, Coun Jenny Bailey, on a fact finding visit at its leading plant science research organisation in the city.

She met some of their key scientists who are researching cutting edge plant breeding projects, many of which it is hoped will lead to new crops being produced to feed the world’s expanding population, particularly in developing countries and areas of drought stress.

An Open Day held for some of the UK’s leading plant breeders at NIAB highlighted the latest issues and innovations that their scientific experts have been working on over the past year with the National List testing process of Winter Oilseed Rape.

Discussion centred on the contemporary approaches to service delivery and how to improve the value for money that these services offer. The event provided a unique opportunity for NIAB to listen to and respond to the needs of the plant breeders.

NIAB Chief Executive Prof Wayne Powell was interviewed by the BBC following a report which showed that researchers in China have pinpointed an elusive gene that plays a key role in determining the harvest potential of rice, according to a study released on Sunday by the journal Nature Genetics.

You can listen to the interview on this podcast: here

Further information is available press consultant Ellee Seymour on 01353 648564 or 07939 811961

Innovative research scientists at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany are evaluating new forage crops to provide “rocket fuel” for livestock.

They will share their skills and expertise at Grassland & Muck 2008 and showcase the latest in crop technology. A high ranking NIAB team will attend the event at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire next Wednesday and Thursday, 21 and 22 May, led by Forage Manager, Don Pendergrast. Grassland is aimed at challenging producers to plan grass and muck as an essential asset for profitable meat and milk production.

NIAB hosted an HGCA Symposium for PhD students throughout the UK who were able to showcase their agricultural research projects.

HGCA, which promotes improvements in the production of UK cereals and oilseeds, is actively involved in raising the profile of agricultural R&D within the young science community.

It is currently sponsoring 23 PhD students on a wide range of projects from crop production to human and animal nutrition.

A unique NIAB training course on quantitative genetics and statistics attracted participants from as far a field as Switzerland, Madeira and Latvia.

The two week postgraduate level course, entitled “Quantitative Methods in Plant Breeding”, rapidly filled with plant breeders and students, and may be held again at their centre in Huntingdon Road, Cambridge to meet demand.