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The aim of this research is to understand the importance of factors that modify reliance on pesticides and integrate these into Integrated Pest Management (IPM) toolboxes tailored to key Scottish horticultural and arable crops. Novel control options, which reduce reliance on pesticides, are required because of reduced availability of plant protection products. IPM tools are being developed and evaluated in optimised combinations to suppress key pest and disease threats for each cropping system. This work integrates contributions from other areas of research e.g. new varietal resistance, pest
The overall aim is to improve detection of economically important pests/pathogens/diseases affecting key Scottish crops. This will improve decision making for growers and control recommendations and inform policy and statutory recommendations, leading to improved disease control. Much of the research capitalises on outputs from the previous RESAS programme and externally funded research. The initial focus is primarily on developing/improving the necessary assays, tools and techniques. Subsequently, new detection methods will either be validated and incorporated directly into relevant IPM
Improved risk management and control of plant diseases: to be achieved through an understanding of key epidemiological parameters and optimal ways of manipulating them. These parameters underpin the development of epidemiological models that can be used to predict the effect of management strategies, including crop protection and host resistance. This work aims to define the parameters for problematic and economically important diseases of crops of particular importance to Scotland in order to deliver practical disease control solutions.
A major constraint on achieving food security is crop loss due to pests and diseases. The main aim of this work is to develop a better understanding of the plant-pest interactions that threaten arable crop production in Scotland and elsewhere. Understanding the mechanisms that pathogens use to invade and colonise host plants, in parallel with the processes by which plants resist infection, will provide key insights to drive long term plant protection strategies. Within the EU, there has been a drive for sustainable agriculture with reduced inputs, a consequence of which has been reduction in
The main activities will focus on barley, wheat, potato and soft fruit, the crops of major importance to the Scottish economy. For each crop, the spectrum of capabilities is linked into translational crop genomics pipelines that ultimately deliver improved cultivars. Underpinning research in all projects will be the continued development of novel technologies and approaches including custom platforms for genomic and functional characterisation of important traits. Improvements in genome sequencing and annotation, high-throughput genetic analysis and trait analysis capabilities will allow
The Golde lab’s current focus is development of vaccines for viral infections of livestock that induce a strong cellular immune response to compliment the anti-virus antibody response induced using present vaccine formulations. We use vaccine vectors derived from various viruses including adenovirus and vaccinia virus to redesign the vaccine payload to be delivered in a manner that induces the critical cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. This response kills virus infected cells and arrests the spread of virus within the body and between animals.
Jennie is a Senior researcher in potato pathology and diagnostics. Her main research interests are developing the use of molecular diagnostic techniques for the detection and quantification of seed and soil-borne potato pathogens: both as a research tool to investigate the epidemiology of potato pathogens, and in supporting the management of potatoes by quantifying disease risk. By employing appropriate sampling strategies in conjunction with DNA extraction and molecular real-time PCR techniques to detect and quantify target pathogens we can validate the relationship between detectable
My current research interests are in developing and applying an understanding of the physiological determinants of resource use efficiency (especially nitrogen use efficiency) and the response of crops to foliar disease to guide management practice and improve the sustainability of production. Physiological questions are addressed at the tissue, whole plant and crop scales. Modelling is used to integrate understanding across these scales and to investigate the complex interactions between soil, root and crop canopy processes. Research on nitrogen use efficiency is seeking to identify the