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With a markedly international flavour this year, the event featured speakers from five continents and a large Chinese contingent led by Mr Liang Xisen, chairman of China’s largest potato producer, Xisen Potato Industry Company. Despite a soggy start to the day, more than 700 farmers, scientists, policymakers and potato industry representatives visited the James Hutton Institute’s Balruddery Farm to take part in Potatoes in Practice 2016 - the largest field-based event in the UK potato industry calendar. Organised and hosted by the James Hutton Institute in partnership with AHDB Potatoes, SRUC

“Pests and pathogens remain a major constraint to food security in a world where potato is rising in importance as a major food crop. More than 100 potato scientists from all across Europe and beyond descended on Dundee to discuss crop pests and diseases that cost millions in annual losses to farmers and industry. The European Association for Potato Research (EAPR) Pathology and Pests 2016 section meeting featured speakers from five continents, who described some of the main threats to potato crops in different parts of the world, to add context to European research and how it aligns with that

“PiP is unmissable for anyone in the potato industry - with attendance rising steadily, it is GB’s largest potato field day offering something for everybody. Potato industry representatives, growers and influencers from all over the UK and beyond are expected to descend on Dundee to take part in Potatoes in Practice (PiP) 2016, the UK’s largest technical potato field event offering a high-standard mix of science, technology and practical advice. Related content Potatoes in Practice 2016 More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line), +44

“Understanding the patterns genetic variation recorded in the genomes of crop plants promises to reveal how the process of mutation and natural selection has allowed plants to become successful in their own specific environmental niche How did barley, a plant native to the Middle East and South-Western Asia, become able to be grown on land from just below the Arctic Circle to the equatorial highlands and southerly latitudes? The answer lies in the combined forces of evolution and natural selection, according to recent research published in the influential journal Nature Genetics. More

"By combining archaeobotany and crop-specific genetics, this study has produced novel insights into the origins of our one of our most important crop plants. An international team of researchers from leading institutions in Scotland, Germany, Israel and the USA has succeeded for the first time in sequencing the genome of 6,000 year old barley grains from the Copper Age (the Chalcolithic). Their results, which report the oldest plant genome to be reconstructed to date, are published now in the online version of Nature Genetics. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager

Scientists from the University of Glasgow and the Moredun Research Institute have published data from a comprehensive analysis of the changes that occur in milk during mastitis caused by a bacterial infection of the udder.

“This work will help us to understand how the cellulose synthase complex works, how plants form cellulose and how they lay it down in the patterns that provide strength and structure to the plant. A Dundee and Manchester collaboration has found out more about one of the most abundant biological substances on the planet. Dr Piers Hemsley from the University of Dundee and James Hutton Institute, and Professor Simon Turner from the University of Manchester have been studying cellulose - the major structural component in plants. Related content Cell and Molecular Sciences Piers Hemsley More

"It is key to work with Ethiopian researchers and stakeholders to identify potential mechanisms which can help farmers in Ethiopia to become better equipped to cope with drought A collaboration involving the James Hutton Institute and the University of Aberdeen has been awarded approximately £450K to carry out two research projects into building resilience to drought in Ethiopia and the interaction between organic resource use and food, energy and water. Related content Anja Byg Anke Fischer More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line)

"One of the Institute’s most successful and long-running field events, Fruit for the Future this year returns to its roots with an evening fruit walk around Mylnefield Farm in Invergowrie Farmers, agronomists, representatives of the food and drink industry and scientists will come together next week (Thursday 14th July, 4.00 to 6.30pm) at the James Hutton Institute’s Dundee site to take part in Fruit for the Future, the Institute’s annual celebration of soft fruit science. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line), +44 (0)344 928

“This research will generate new data and knowledge to answer challenges across whole rotations and provide information and tools to allow farm businesses to make rewarding and sustainable rotational decisions. Four new projects addressing challenges in soil and water management across whole rotations have been awarded £1.2m in funding from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). The interrelated projects will form a five-year programme of research to help farmers and agronomists optimise soil and water management decisions and plan environmentally and economically