Impact case study database

Novel insights developed through UH research into how damaging pathogens infect the key crops oilseed rape, barley and strawberries have shaped new disease control strategies. These UH-led studies have increased profitability for UK farmers and growers. They have delivered commercial benefits to the wider sector, supported the employment of postgraduates within the industry and changed Chinese government trade policy on oilseed rape imports.

Protecting crop yields and increasing the profitability of UK agriculture and horticulture

Research at UH was done in collaboration with end-users across UK agriculture: farmers and growers, crop breeders, agronomy and agrochemical companies, AHDB (the levy board that represents farmers/growers and the wider supply chain) and charitable trusts. Its core aim was to translate new scientific knowledge directly into practical improvements to the industry’s disease management strategies. Evidence-based recommendations were communicated through the networks of project consortia members, through industry briefings and events including Cereals (Europe’s largest event for the arable industry) and Fruit Focus (the UK’s key event for the fruit industry), via new guidelines published by AHDB and in articles in the farming press. As an example, the lead industry partner for G3 and G4 was Hutchinsons, one of the UK’s largest agricultural advice and supply companies; from 2015, the company disseminated the research insights on oilseed rape to 13,000 farmers per year through their network of agronomists [ 5.1]. UH findings shaped AHDB’s Phoma leaf spot and stem canker guidelines (2014/15; updated online) for growers of oilseed rape [ 5.2] and AHDB’s principal guidelines for strawberry growers: Control of strawberry powdery mildew under protection (2016) [ 5.5].

Net benefits to farm incomes

Two corroborating sources – Hutchinsons [ 5.1] and a former AHDB research director (also chair of the project consortium for G1) [ 5.3] – quantify the cumulative net benefit of UH’s research on oilseed rape to UK agriculture at between £10m and £20m per annum. Hutchinsons reports that via the evidence-based advice disseminated by its agronomists, ‘ farmers were able to plant cultivars with greater disease resistance and to improve timing of fungicide sprays so that their yields were increased and costs decreased, improving their gross margins’ [ 5.1]. This benefitted farm incomes by £5m per year (total of £10m to date) [ 5.1]. The former AHDB research director said the implications of UH’s research findings ‘ have been discussed widely with members of the industry’ which has ‘ enabled the industry to apply the knowledge gained to improve the … control of diseases in oilseed rape crops, leading to reduced losses’ and net benefits worth £10m per year (total of £20m taken from late 2018) [ 5.3]. Hertfordshire-based Woodhall Estate, which produces several arable crops including oilseed rape, is an example of a farming business that has changed its practice as a result of UH research insights. Forecasting yield gains of 5%, it now grows two oilseed rape cultivars with different resistance genes and quantitative resistance in addition to Rlm7 cultivars ‘ to prevent Rlm7 resistance breakdown’ and undertakes more targeted fungicide applications to control PSC [ 5.4].

Citing Hall’s strawberry powdery mildew management guidelines [ 5.5], AHDB stated: ‘[It] is

now considered the principal guidance information on strawberry powdery mildew control by UK

strawberry growers. The majority of UK growers and their agronomists have followed the guidance contained within this factsheet, amending their management and control practices accordingly.’ It added: ‘ Before this guidance was published, strawberry growers producing crops under protection could lose between 20-70% of their crop to powdery mildew. In 2016, the total UK-season strawberry market was valued at £386 million (Kantar). Should 20% of the crop have been lost to strawberry powdery mildew, this would have represented lost sales of £77.2 million, so the impact of this research and subsequent guidance for growers has been considerable’ [ 5.5].

Commercial benefits to crop breeders

Rapid breakdown of resistance in new cultivars is very costly to breeders. UH research into the regional distribution of virulent races of Lm guided the deployment of oilseed rape cultivars with suitable resistance. New knowledge also guided breeders in the development of new cultivars that have durable resistance and temperature resilience. Leading seed supplier Grainseed Ltd reported that improved understanding of Lm and Lb in oilseed rape via UH research had enabled them to identify more resistant cultivars for UK growers and therefore maintain their market share. In the light of increasing challenges, **Grainseed wrote: ‘ We consider maintaining seed volumes a major achievement’* [ 5.6]. LS Plant Breeding, a UK-based subsidiary of German plant breeding company NPZ-Lembke, specified two main areas of benefit: a more rapid introduction of resistance against Lm into their new cultivars and improved marketing of their new cultivars [ 5.7]. This equated to a net benefit of £70,000 per year, or cumulatively £140,000 since late 2018 [ 5.7].

Commercial benefits to agronomy and agrochemical companies

Agronomy companies have used UH research evidence to provide better disease control advice to growers on the use of resistant cultivars and more precise timing of fungicide sprays. Agrochemical companies benefit from better targeting of fungicide sprays as this decreases the risk that pathogens will develop insensitivity to their products. Agrii is a leading provider of agronomy services, technology and strategic advice. UH findings from the SIBLINGS project [ G2] improved Agrii’s understanding of the management of Rhynchosporium in barley; the research data provided evidence of barley yield increases from targeted use of early spring (T0) fungicide sprays [ 5.8]. Agrii shared the optimal control strategies with 5,000 farmers at training workshops [ 5.8]. Agrii said that, as a result of UH research, it saw a 65% industry-wide increase in sales of T0 fungicide sprays; this translated into additional revenue of £6.5m for the industry as a whole and a cumulative £2.7m increase in profit margin for Agrii itself [ 5.8]. Hutchinsons said their involvement in G3 and G4 had increased their customer base and enabled them to sell more services, resulting in a net benefit to the company of £250,000 per annum – a total of £0.5m from 2018 [ 5.1].

AHDB-funded research at UH developed and trialled a decision support system that alerts strawberry growers to the risks of powdery mildew outbreaks and when to target fungicide applications [ 5.5]. Through £220,000 translational funding from Ceres Agri-Tech [ 5.9] the efficacy of the platform was demonstrated through large-scale, on-farm testing. It was licensed to precision agriculture specialist Agri-tech Services and is now available to growers, via subscription, through the company’s online dashboard [ 5.9]. The cost benefit to growers is a minimum of £250 per hectare giving a potential saving of £1.7m per annum to the UK strawberry industry through reducing use of fungicide sprays. User comments included: ‘ Very easy to use and also to enter in data such as when sprays have been applied’ and ‘ This season, following the Mildew Model I would say, has been our ‘cleanest year’ in terms of Mildew, with no outbreaks at all’ [ 5.9]. UH research findings on the efficacy of silicon nutrients in increasing plant resilience [ 3.7] benefitted the business model of Orion FT. Orion FT’s trademarked iNHiB technology delivers bioactive, plant-available silicon to enhance natural plant defences. UH research over the impact period used the company’s products in its trials [ 5.10]. With its products validated through peer-reviewed research, Orion FT was acquired by investment firm Milbank Group in June 2020 and a new management team was employed [ 5.10].

Enabling skills transfer from academia to the UK agricultural industry

Across G1, G3 and G4, UH worked closely with three agricultural charitable trusts – the Chadacre Agricultural Trust, the Felix Cobbold Trust and the Perry Foundation – that all have the stated aim of improving agriculture through education of farmers and the provision of support for young people to enter the agricultural sector. Four trust-funded UH postgraduate students have subsequently moved into high-skilled industry employment. PhD studentships funded by Chadacre resulted in one student joining RHS Wisley, two entering the breeding industry (LS Plant Breeding; Limagrain) and one current student has been working at the consultancy ADAS [ 5.11]. Through funding from Perry and Felix Cobbold, one PhD student secured a position at Elsoms Seeds, while three others took up academic research posts [ 5.3, 5.12].

[TEXT REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] [ 5.13]