Rothamsted Research

This Livestock and Pasture study is part of the wider UKRI STFC-funded EO4Agroclimate programme.  

Yield Enhancement Networks (YENs) were launched in 2012 to support and energise on-farm learning-by-sharing and thus to enhance farming progress.

The Cereal YEN was established in 2012, and is the longest-running Yield Enhancement Network.

Roger Sylvester-Bradley      Tuesday 31st January 2023   It’s news across the world – the biggest wheat crop ever grown, yielding 18 tonnes of grain per hectare! This is fantastic, and laudable in all respects, but it’s no accident.    

A transdisciplinary hub looking to provide to bridge the gap between science and policy to achieve Net Zero

The IPM Decisions project will create an online platform that is easy to use for the monitoring and management of pests. Access the platform now at https://platform.ipmdecisions.net/  

Devon silvopasture 12-year on-farm trial including site at Rothamsted's North Wyke

Together, we’re creating plausible pathways, and practical, open science, to achieve Net Zero through the Agrifood system by 2050.

App and website dedicated to pest, disease & weed identification and management.

Strategic BBSRC & NERC programme with CEH & Rothamsted  - Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Systems,

Physical and online conference at Harper Adams Soil & Water Management Centre on 7th December.

Agri-Tech Week features a mix of in-person and virtual events that are designed to showcase exciting developments in agri-tech. It is coordinated by Agri-TechE working closely with partners across the innovation ecosystem and aims to provide opportunities to attract new customers and partners and to broker collaborations and international connections.

Guide published by BASF and AHDB, written with ADAS & Rothamsted, providing a complete reference book for cereal diseases. 

Series of articles in CPM reporting results from research projects by AHDB & others

AHDB Guide from 2021 incorporating WRAG guidelines. Weed control is vital for high yields of good-quality crops and to prevent the spread of pests and diseases, e.g. ergot. Yet with fewer active ingredients, a need to protect water and manage herbicide resistance, the weed challenge must be managed across the rotation.

Despite the many benefits of growing maize, conventional growing practices can lead to negative environmental impacts, particularly in terms of soil erosion and runoff.   A group of farmers in the SW have set up a field lab to demonstrate that by changing the way maize is grown, you can reduce these negative impacts without reducing yield.  These changes include a move to strip tilling rather than conventional ploughing, and trialing different cover crops, both seasonal and perennial,  to enhance soil health and reduce inputs.

  https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/north-wyke-farm-platform

A TOOLKIT FOR BREEDING RESISTANCE TO ADULT AND LARVAL HERBIVORY BY THE CABBAGE STEM FLEA BEETLE. BBSRC Industrial Partnership project led by Rachel Wells at JIC looking to breed oilseed rape with resistance to CSFB.

AHDB Guide published in 2018.

Co-ordinating Global Wheat Research

In July 2022 the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Commons took evidence on how to unlock the potential of agricultural science and technology.

AHDB webpage highlighting the national network of aphid suction traps and yellow water traps run by Rothamsted Insect Survey, supported by BBSRC. Delivering regional information on aphid species and numbers, this monitoring resource can help guide insecticide treatment decisions.

YEN      Friday 3rd January 2023   Russ McKenzie awarded YEN's Innovator of the Year in 2022 at the 10th Anniversary YEN Conference.

Sarah Clarke      Friday 3rd January 2023   Excellent grain quality as well as high yields were celebrated at the YEN 10th Anniversary Conference, with the Milling Quality Awards sponsored by UK Flour Millers. All UK Group 1 milling wheat entries were eligible for this competition, a total of 20 for 2022.

Long-term experiments (LTEs) are valuable resources to assess the sustainability and resilience of agricultural practices and systems.

Wild-oats are a highly competitive grass-weed in the UK of which there are two important species: common wild-oats (Avena fatua) and winter wild-oats (Avena sterilis ssp. ludoviciana). Failure to control wild oats in arable fields can lead to high penalties to yield, seed crop contamination, income loss for farmers and reduced competitiveness of UK agriculture. Whilst herbicide resistance selection has been slower in wild-oats compared to other grass weeds such as Black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides), it is still a growing problem and since this report was published in 2001, resistance has been reported across hundreds of farms across many UK counties.  Continuing development of herbicide resistance in wild-oats will limit pesticide choice and possibly lead to a higher dependence on environmentally 'risky' herbicides that are more likely to reach water. The objective of this project was to conduct and collate research on the characterisation of herbicide resistance in wild-oats with the aim of informing strategies for the prevention, containment and control of herbicide resistant populations. Links to the full project are provided at the bottom of the page.

In Devon, a group of six farmers and Rothamsted’s North Wyke research farm have teamed up through Innovative Farmers to form the Devon Silvopasture Network.

New study suggests “techno-grazing” approaches can support more cattle in less space without adversely affecting soil structure and function

The Lot 1 Innovation project ‘Accelerating Willow Breeding and Deployment’ project led by Rothamsted Research has just released a ‘Growers guide to short rotation coppice willow (SRCw) varieties for biomass’.

Root structures and genetics give the weed an advantage over wheat and explain field patches.