UK horticulture sector – research targets and needs, roles of collaborative R&D

Horticulture - Fruit R&D Overview

Christopher Atkinson, HoSEast Malling Research

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture

Land-based industry, science and technology (‘EMR industry owned’ since 1913)

Germplasmcollections

-Functional genomics

Plants

EvaluationFingerprinting

Molecular markersShelf-life

Environment stressP&D resistance

Growing systems

DriversGovernment policy

EU legislationClimate change Diet and health

DriversProtecting the environment

Food production/securityReduction of wasteIndustry economics

Agronomy and nutritionMinimising wasteCropping systems

P&D Irrigation scheduling Organic production

Novel cropsExtension/Consultancy

Added value

EM Commercial New varieties

Insect pheromonesImproved varietiesHigh health fruit

DriversCustomer policy

Economics‘EMR commercial’

Support for EMR Science

BASIC STRATEGIC APPLIED

EMR’s financial history

• Pre-independence income 2003 £4.8 million (2.8 Defra)

• Independent from Defra 2004

• 6-year Guarantee of contracts from Defra (2007/8 - £2.4 million - 2010 £0)

• Major customers in 2009 – Defra (57%), commercial (13%), Hort. Devel. Comp. (12%), East Malling Trust for Horticultural Research (11%)

• Horticulture-LINK funding - £130k to £780k p.a. (18 projects)

• 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 • Released 47 fruit tree rootstocks, 22 apple scion var., 4 pears, 2

plums, 3 cherries, 10 hops, 24 raspberries, 28 strawberries, and others

• Resistance to diseases and pests or low input or organic systems‑

• Developed the first genetic map for strawberry (Fragaria) using transferable molecular markers

• Genomic understanding for Prunus, apple, strawberry and raspberry

• EMR has pioneered molecular route to identify floral incompatibility in Prunus and apple

• Sales of EMR strawberry var. currently average 20 million plants per annum

EMR impacts – crop protection

• Pest and disease resistance crop varieties

• Development and evaluation of alternative and novel pest and diseases control strategies

• Predictive pest and disease forecasting models

• Delivery of minimal pesticide dose

• Residue free food products

• Development and delivery of grower best practice

EMR impacts – crop irrigation

• Water savings of 85%

• ‘Low risk’ scheduling strategies

• Targeted nutrition reduced environmental pollution

• Improved product quality from deficit irrigation

• Manipulating fruit nutrition

• Enhanced shelf-life

• Understanding control and stress induced plant responses

• Reduced pesticide use

EMR impacts – waste reduction

Increasing the % of Class 1 fruit• Breeding varieties• Growing systems (nutrition/irrigation)• Minimising pest and disease damage• Application of technology

Reducing losses post-harvest• Management of ripening • Control atmosphere storage• Reducing impact of pathogens

Consumers• Improved home based storage• Better consumer advice• 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)

• Total current HDC input £849k

• Total current value £8.8 million (cash £5.7 million)

Allows for the development of consortia of stakeholders

• 33 grower partners

• 82 non-grower industry partners

• 22 science/academic partnerships

What are the positives and negatives of current LINK

Positives• 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 • 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

• Crop protection

• Water availability, it use and efficiency

• Fertiliser use and efficiency (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus)

• Waste reduction (throughout the supply chain)

• Climate change (opportunities)

• 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 throughnovel 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)

Brown rots

Aphids

Light brown apple mothPlum fruit moth

IPDM programmeO

OH

Damson hop aphid sex pheromone (cis-cis nepetalactol)

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)

Cultivar and nitrogen treatment

'Baldwin' 'Hedda'

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ntra

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(m

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0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5N1 N2 N3 N4 N5

decreasing nitrogen

application