emr: research, development & innovation annual

Transcription

1 emr: research, development & innovation annual report 2014

2 Governing Board Chairman: Mr Frank Attwood Professor Ian Crute CBE Professor John Mumford Science & Industry Advisory Board Chairman: Professor Ian Crute CBE Dr Paul Burrows Professor Nick Battey Professor William Davies CBE Dr Helen Ferrier Mrs Marion Regan Professor Leon Terry Technical Advisory Committee Chairman: Dr Oliver Doubleday Mr Neil Franklin Mr Richard GreatRex Mr Tony Harding Mr Richard Harnden Dr Theresa Huxley Mr Robert James Dr Jon Knight Dr Edwin Moorhouse Mr James Simpson Mr Alan Wilson Resigned Jan 2015 Auditors: Crowe Clark Whitehall LLP, 10 Palace Avenue, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6NF Solicitors: Brachers LLP, Somerfield House, 59 London Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8JH Banking: Barclays Bank, 40/46 High Street Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1SS Patent Agents: Marks & Clerk LLP, 90 Long Acre, London, WC2E 9RA East Malling Research New Road, East Malling, Kent, ME19 6BJ, UK A private company limited by guarantee. Registered in England. Registration No Charity Registration No Registered office as above Telephone: +44(0) Fax: +44(0) Electronic mail: [email protected] Website: Editors: Angela Chapple and Jane Gregory Graphics Design & Photography: Penny Greeves East Malling Research 2015

3 annual report 2014: contents Page Introduction 1 Professor Peter Gregory Genetics and Crop Improvement 7 Dr Xiangming Xu Pest and Pathogen Ecology for Sustainable Crop Management 15 Professor Jerry Cross Resource Efficiency for Crop Production 27 Dr Mark Else Update on Rootstock Research at EMR - a Case Study 32 Dr Mark Else Studentships 38 Feli Fernández & Nicola Harrison Glasshouse and Field Services 40 Graham Caspell Wealth and Job Creation through Innovation 42 Ross Newham Communications 45 Dr Ursula Twomey & Ross Newham Staff Publications 48 Accounts 52 Staff List 53 EMR Research Projects 57 EMR Postgraduate Research Projects 64

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5 introduction: Professor Peter Gregory 1 After the excitement of EMR s Centenary celebrations in 2013, this year was more down-to-earth, with the focus returning to ensuring the long-term future of our activities. The last event of our Centenary year was the Amos Memorial Lecture at the end of February, at which I spoke on The Scope of Scientific Research in Fruit Growing the same title that Professor Dunstan, Principal of Wye College, had spoken to in October 2012 to stimulate the creation of a fruit research institute in Kent. The lecture provided an opportunity to reflect on the practical benefits that had flowed to horticulture-related industries from the scientific and research activities at East Malling, and to look forward to the challenges that our society faces in the coming decades. Chief among those new challenges are the opportunities and threats posed by a warming and more variable climate (2014 having had the wettest winter and being the warmest year since records began), the introduction of new pests and diseases, a greater focus on the nutritional aspect of food security in which fruits play a major role, and the development of new fruits and fruit products to meet the needs of an urban and ageing population. The historic and current impacts of research at East Malling are profound. During the year, we commissioned Brookdale Consulting to assess the social and economic impacts of our research. This showed that the historic value of our work on apple rootstocks and controlled storage is estimated at 8.9 billion to the global economy, and that the ongoing impact of our work is estimated to be worth 216 million over the last ten years. For every 1 spent at EMR, at least 7.5 is returned to the UK economy. Looking forward, their analysis demonstrates that EMR has a strong contribution to make to major challenges facing the UK, and beyond, including resilience of supply chains, demand for British products, climate change, water and energy efficiency, emerging pests and diseases, healthy eating and food security. Furthermore, consultations with industry partners showed that our role is valued, and that they anticipate EMR making a strong future contribution to sustainable intensification. v Steve Visscher, Deputy Chief Executive of BBSRC, and Peter at the launch of the Brookdale Consulting report (above) and the report (below)

6 2 introduction Petunias in the glasshouse being used for media trialling one of the suite of new EMS businesses Roger Carline, Managing Director of East Malling Services v Our relationships with industry partners have deepened and broadened during the year, mainly as a result of our continuing success with Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and the growth of our commercial subsidiary, East Malling Services Ltd. Our investment in staff and facilities has been rewarded through our successes in winning industrial partnership awards with a wide range of companies in both an agricultural engineering call and via the Catalyst Fund of the AgriTech Strategy. Besides our more usual partnerships with producer and marketing organisations, we are now working with instrument manufacturers, imaging specialists, weather service companies and specialist food and juice processors to research and develop a wide range of products for horticulture-related industries. EMR currently has eight projects under the AgriTech banner, and conversations about new projects continue. Meanwhile, business in East Malling Services Ltd, under the leadership of Roger Carline, is growing as well. Our commercial services of growing media evaluation, crop protection trialling, and DNA fingerprinting have been marketed more effectively resulting in greater profitability, and we are looking to launch a new service in 2015 encompassing novel crop and variety trialling. The strawberry breeding club was successfully renewed, apple and pear rootstock breeding was re-funded by its two sponsors, and apple breeding has been restarted following an agreement with a commercial sponsor. One consequence of this increased activity is that our income from external sources is increasing in it was up by 18% on the previous year. We also had significant success in winning competitive funding from the Horticulture Development Company (HDC) to manage three pest and disease research programmes for soft and top fruits for the next five years. This was the first example of a new style of funding from the HDC, which involved working with others to form consortia that could deliver the range of research requirements that the HDC research committees wished to commission. These programmes provide a much firmer base for future planning.

7 3 Peter Gregory with Tony Harding of Worldwide Fruit after the signing of the variety breeding contract (left) and talking to George Eustice MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for farming, food and marine environment at Fruit Focus 2014 < As in recent years, our research staff have continued to increase in number. Much of the increase in 2014 occurred in the area of genetics, with Drs Charlotte Nellist, Helen Cockerton, Bo Li and Robert Vickerstaff joining Richard Harrison s team to work on a range of externally-funded projects. Dr Louisa Robinson-Boyer and Charles Whitworth also joined our genetics programme, while Jennifer Kingsnorth added to the expertise in the pest and pathogen programme, mostly to undertake projects funded by Innovate UK. Finally, we were pleased eventually to recruit a tree physiologist, Dr Julien Lecourt, who is initiating research on the culture of vines in southern England and on new growing systems for apples. All of these new appointments are adding significant depth to the skills base available at EMR. We also continued with our successful policy of partial retirements, which aid scientific continuity, with Jean Fitzgerald moving to part-time working in mid-year. Our research activity is now thriving and producing new knowledge across our three programmes and five cross-cutting themes. In our Genetics and Crop Improvement programme, substantial progress has been made in the characterisation of determinants that facilitate the jumping of hosts by pathogens. Sequencing and analysis of 19 pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae (the cause of cherry and plum canker) has led to greater understanding of how pathogens evolve and specialise on different hosts and the strategies that they adopt to suppress resistance. The investment in new DNA sequencing technologies and improved bioinformatics capabilities at EMR has underpinned this rapid progress such work would have been inconceivable only a few years ago. We were very pleased that one of our PhD students, Michelle Hulin, was awarded a prize by the Marsh Christian Trust for her contribution to this work. v Michelle Hulin receiving the Marsh Christian Trust prize In Pest and Pathogen Ecology and Crop Management, 2014 saw significant advances in our research with industry into the behaviour of Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) in the UK.

8 4 introduction Bethan Shaw explaining how to identify Spotted Wing Drosophila to growers Drosophila suzukii male image taken from a poster at an information day hosted by the HDC and EMR v produced by Bethan to help with identification v The national SWD adult monitoring programme showed large fluctuations in the timing and abundance of the pest from year to year; the pest appeared earlier and numbers were higher following the mild winter of 2013/14 compared with 2012/13. Monitoring of different habitats showed that numbers were higher in woodland and tree crops than elsewhere, and in cherry orchards it was found that attacks on the fruit can occur before the first adults are caught in traps. This latter observation is crucial to developing effective strategies for management of the pest and suggests that current traps cannot be relied on to determine whether insecticide sprays are required. This research is ongoing, but is already contributing to the effective practical management of the pest in commercial crops. New research in one of our cross-cutting research themes (the science underpinning rootstock performance) has led to the development of a two-locus model and molecular markers that can predict the level of dwarfing an apple rootstock will confer to the scion based on its genotype. Two Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) that co-localise with previously determined major dwarfing loci (as well as QTL for early bearing, flower density and fruit yield), have been identified. Transcriptome sequencing to identify key genomic regions and genes associated with rootstock-conferred control of vigour, combined with fine-mapping of these QTL regions, will enable us to develop reliable markers for marker-assisted breeding and to improve our understanding of the genetic interactions between dwarfing rootstocks and their scions. In my last two reports I mentioned that the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) had invited us to apply for some strategic funding. Despite an enormous amount of work by staff at the University of Reading and EMR, this funding did not materialise. The consequence has been that the Boards of EMR and the East Malling Trust are now looking elsewhere for a potential partnership that could ensure the

9 5 Taking a leaf sample for DNA analysis v long-term sustainability of EMR both intellectually and financially. Talks with potential partners are at an exploratory stage, but will be a major focus of effort in early Meanwhile, we are continuing to explore means of securing capital investment to renew our ageing glasshouse, insect rearing and controlled growth room facilities, and update our instrumentation and storage rooms for research on produce quality. We had hoped that an Innovation Centre for Fresh and Prepared Produce might provide the vehicle for this via the AgriTech Strategy, but this now appears unlikely. However, as 2015 dawns, other funding opportunities are emerging that we shall be pursuing vigorously. A personal highlight of the year was my attendance at the Congress of the International Society of Horticultural Science at Brisbane. I received many comments from international well-wishers delighted to see EMR present and participating in the programme of oral papers. In the week prior to the Congress, I was pleased to visit Plant & Food Research in New Zealand to see something of their work. I gave talks at four locations about our renewed research activity, and this has been followed by several exchanges of correspondence to develop joint research projects between them and us. Finally, this will be my last annual report as I have decided that after four years at the helm, and ten years as a chief executive of a research institute, it is time to focus on other academic interests. So, I hope that you will enjoy reading about our activities in 2014 and be as enthusiastic as I am about what has been achieved by our skilled and dedicated staff.

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11 genetics and crop improvement: Professor Xiangming Xu 7 The Genetics and Crop Improvement Programme (GCI) focuses on understanding the genetic basis of agriculturally important traits to underpin the genetic improvement of Rosaceous fruit crops. It undertakes breeding programmes, with support from industrial partners, producing commercially viable cultivars of strawberry, raspberry, cherry and scions and rootstocks for apple and pear. Research skills within the group encompass genetics, molecular biology, image analysis and bioinformatics. One important research output is molecular markers for important plant traits to facilitate breeding with improved precision and efficiency, thus accelerating the breeding process. Basic research is currently focused on understanding the genetic basis of the mode of pathogenicity of plant and insect pathogens, host responses to colonisation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and water use efficiency in herbaceous and woody perennials. Researchers also work to elucidate the genetic variants controlling resilience to a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses and how these affect yield potential and fruit quality. In addition to studies on fruit crops, the GCI programme is also undertaking research on host-pathogen interactions on UK native trees, and expanding research and development for novel crops. Several large projects began in 2014 in the area of host-pathogen interactions led by Richard Harrison. A collaborative project began in April between Warwick Crop Centre, Hazera Seeds and EMR, funded by the BBSRC and Horticultural Development Company (HDC), to identify pathogenicity chromosomes in the vascular wilt Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cepae and host resistance in onion; this has already led to the identification of novel proteins implicated in pathogenicity. Another four-year research programme also began in April, funded by Innovate UK, Driscoll s Genetics and Berry Gardens Growers, to study

12 8 genetics and crop improvement Arbuscule in root tissue and in vitro culture (right) Mycorrhizal spore (AMF) strawberry resistance to the vascular wilt Verticillium dahliae and the interaction between this pathogen and nematodes. This project is using hyperspectral imaging to identify infection in root tissue. The research capacity of the programme was boosted by three new projects funded by Innovate UK in Two of the projects were led by Richard Harrison and the third by Xiangming Xu. The first two projects aim to understand the response of strawberry plants to AMF colonisation in substrate and its genetic control related to root architecture. These two projects firmly establish EMR as a centre for researching the use of AMF in commercial horticulture. A key deliverable from these projects is molecular markers for increased resource efficiency of strawberry plants grown in substrate to which AMF is applied (since AMF is usually absent in substrate). Substrate production of strawberry has increased significantly in recent times, primarily because of the threat of soil-borne diseases. Another Agri-Tech catalyst project, funded by BBSRC and Innovate UK, also commenced in late 2014, examining aspects of improving mycoprotein production efficiency. The UK leads the world in the production of mycoprotein and this project, harnessing EMR s capabilities in fungal genetics and bioinformatics, is made possible by collaboration with Marlow Foods. The aim is to understand how different sugars (all derived from plants) can be used to produce high-quality protein on a commercial scale. In parallel with the success in securing research funding, GCI has been equally successful in securing funding for the long-term future of several commercial breeding programmes. Felicidad Fernández secured five-year funding from the International Nursery group (INN) and HDC to continue breeding rootstocks of apple and pear. This new phase of the project will focus on the early evaluation of selections for pest and disease resistance,

13 9 Rootstock trials in the glasshouse Table-top strawberries grown in a substrate including tolerance to replant disease and Phytophthora. Validation of suitable markers for marker-assisted breeding will also be expanded in the coming years. Currently, there are a few advanced selections in this breeding programme being considered for commercialisation. The strawberry breeding team, led by David Simpson, has successfully obtained funding from CPM Ltd to extend the current breeding programme for glasshouse production for another five years in a project that will be led by Abi Johnson. Finally, Richard Harrison has secured funding from Worldwide Fruit and ENZA to start a new apple scion breeding programme. This long-term programme aims to produce dessert apples with exceptional storage and fruit quality, coupled with disease resistance to Neonectria distissima, the causal agent of apple canker. The commercial strawberry breeding programme once again had a successful year with the annual sales of EMR varieties reaching 28.6 million, representing a 5.6% increase compared to the previous year. Uptake of the East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club s (EMSBC) latest variety, Malling Centenary, was very encouraging, with excellent feedback from growers, triallists and retailers within the UK and Europe. From the EMSBC programme, ten promising selections (six June-bearer and four everbearer) were identified to proceed to offsite growers trials for commercial assessment, with another four advanced selections (two June-bearer and two everbearer) progressing to commercial-scale trials. The utilisation of molecular markers in the breeding programme using a directed, marker-assisted breeding approach to disease resistance is to be implemented from spring The second strawberry breeding programme develops cultivars for table-top production in glasshouses exclusively for CPM Ltd. We have selected three lines for assessment of their commercial potential in large scale grower trials in 2015.

14 10 genetics and crop improvement Range of colours in existing raspberry selections The CPM glasshouse where table-top strawberry variety trials take place Both raspberry and cherry breeding programmes (led by Felicidad Fernández) progressed well in The UK and overseas industry reacted positively to raspberry advanced selections from EMR, and firm commitments are being put into place to continue breeding under a commercially-funded agreement with East Malling Services Ltd (EMS) starting in April We expect to see commercial releases from this programme, which builds on our existing relationship with Lubera, in the next two years, starting with two outstanding primocane selections for the professional market and an exciting purple hybrid for gardeners. The number of cherry seedlings produced (including some interspecific hybrids) increased significantly in 2014 in the cherry breeding programme (funded by Univeg in collaboration with AIGN). Four cherry advanced selections have been established in multisite trials in the UK and Europe as part of the East Malling Cherry Group evaluation process, with larger plantings planned for Researchers in the programme participated and presented invited talks at many international conferences. Richard Harrison presented an invited talk on understanding genetics of key strawberry traits for effective breeding at an International Horticulture Conference in Nanjing Agricultural University, China. He also visited Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and discussed future collaborations. Xiangming Xu was invited to visit the strawberry production base in Sichuan Province in China and discussed the possibility of establishing a joint strawberry production base in that area to demonstrate application of modern technologies. He also presented an invited talk on combining models to improve prediction accuracy at the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and on application of meta-genomics to plant disease epidemiology in Nanjing Agricultural University. Adam Whitehouse presented several invited talks in Europe on strawberry breeding and the latest cultivar from EMR Malling Centenary.

15 11 Dr Helen Cockerton preparing strawberry root samples which have been innoculated with Verticillium Cherry-plum hybrids dahliae for fluorescence microscopy (left) and an example image of the fungal infection (right) Several researchers joined the GCI programme in 2014: Dr Robert Vickerstaff (bioinformatician), Dr Bo Li (post-doctoral researcher in imaging analysis), Dr Helen Cockerton (post-doctoral researcher in breeding), Dr Louisa Robinson-Boyer (post-doctoral researcher in microbiology), Dr Helen Bates (molecular biologist), Dr Charlotte Nellist (post-doctoral researcher in plant-microbe interaction), Calum Bridson (entomologist) and Emma Cascant-Lopez (PhD student working on molecular clock in Verticillium dahliae in collaboration with Reading University). Dr Laura Lewis left EMR in Understanding the genetic control of flesh colour in sweet cherry After decades of decline, sweet cherry production is once more on the increase in the UK and northern Europe, in great part due to the adoption of dwarfing rootstocks and protected cropping. Breeding programmes aim to produce improved varieties for these intensive growing systems that combine outstanding fruit quality with good productivity. Season extension, storage potential, tolerance to pests and diseases, and shelf life are also key breeding objectives, most of which can only be characterised in mature trees, making cherry breeding a lengthy and expensive endeavour. Research groups worldwide are working to develop DNA markers to streamline breeding populations and reduce evaluation cost. Cherry cultivars display a great variety of colours when ripe, with flesh and skin pigments being controlled independently. At its most basic, flesh colour can be classified as black (ranging from light red to almost black) or white (cream or yellow flesh, occasionally with a trace of red around the stone). While the skin of black cherries appears to range from reddish purple to black, white-fleshed cherries can display anything from a clear

16 12 Colour segregation in C417 family (below) and C417 linkage map (right) skin through varying degrees of blushing to solid red. Segregations for most families indicate that white flesh is recessive to black, although aberrant segregations have been reported in crosses with Emperor Francis, Belle Agathe, Bohemian Black and Early Rivers. Black cherries are preferred for most markets, including Europe, but most black-fleshed cultivars are heterozygous, so that many families segregate for black versus white when they crop four or more years after germination; thus many breeding programmes would benefit from early determination of this trait in juvenile seedlings. A large-scale study led by Felicidad Fernández was undertaken to map traits of agronomic importance in the EMR cherry collections. The most common approach to locating areas of the genome involved in the control of specific trait(s) is to raise a family that segregates for the trait(s) of interest and to develop a linkage map with molecular markers to identify the marker alleles that are jointly inherited with the phenotypes of interest. Traditionally, PCR-based markers such as microsatellites have been the tools of choice to create such maps, but high-throughput genotyping using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is becoming increasingly common. EMR s cherry mapping progeny (C417) is derived from an intra-specific cross between Colney and C210-7 (an EMR breeding line from the cross Lapins Sweet September ). It comprises more than 300 seedlings and segregates for a number of traits including cropping season and flesh colour. With support from BBSRC, and in collaboration with colleagues in the RECP programme and FEM-IASMA (Italy), we have created a saturated linkage map for part of this population using SSR markers and the Illumina Infinium 6K SNP array developed by the US project RosBREED for whole-genome genotyping of sweet and sour cherry. Only 15% of the markers in the array were informative in our cross; even so, more than 750 markers spanning around 600cM could be assigned to the linkage groups corresponding to the eight chromosomes of sweet cherry.

17 13 Cherry samples awaiting colour classification Cherry selections in the polytunnel This map is being used to further our understanding of the genetic control underlying flesh colour. Previous studies of at EMR, using low density maps, located the control of this trait as a single major gene in linkage group 3 (G3). Similar findings have been reported by another group that carried out analysis of colour as a quantitative (continuous) trait in a population derived from Emperor Francis (previously associated with unusual segregations). We firstly characterised the trait as a single gene scoring the adult seedlings for ripe flesh colour as white or black ; additionally both skin and flesh colour were measured quantitatively using a hand-held colourimeter on 25 mature fruits per seedling by taking two readings on the cheeks of the cherry fruit for skin colour and two readings of the mesocarp for flesh colour. We were able to map the single major gene (Bf) responsible for pigmented flesh ( black phenotype) in an area of G3 that corresponded with previous EMR findings, based on SSRs markers alone in two unrelated families, but located some distance away from the main QTL identified in the Emperor Francis family. Using the peach genome sequence as a reference, we have identified a candidate gene for Bf and gene expression experiments are planned to validate the findings. We believe that the area we have identified is responsible for the control of flesh colour in a large proportion of the cultivated germplasm, while the previously described QTL would account for a secondary locus explaining unusual segregations in certain genetic backgrounds. To verify this hypothesis, we are developing transferable PCR markers for screening of germplasm and breeding populations. We hope these markers will be useful for marker-assisted breeding in the near future.

18 Bees in a commercial hive. The queen is marked with a green spot (circled) so that she can be located easily

19 pest and pathogen ecology for sustainable crop management: Professor Jerry Cross 15 The focus of this science programme is the development of sustainable solutions to important pests and pathogens, especially of perennial crops. Dealing with new alien invasive species, climate change and changing horticultural practices continue to present many new challenges. Three five-year Horticulture LINK research projects were completed or had their final year of experimental work in One entitled Developing biocontrol methods and their integration in sustainable pest and disease management in plum and cherry production was completed on 31 March. The overall aim of the project was to develop alternative, sustainable, non-pesticidal methods for managing brown rot, aphids, plum fruit moth and light brown apple moth, the most important pests and diseases in UK plum and cherry crops, by incorporating biocontrol approaches into the management strategies. Several new bicontrol approaches were developed, including two new microbial BCAs for control of brown rot, and the use of alternative sugar sources to disrupt ant defence of aphid pests so that they are controlled by generalist predators, thus obviating the need for aphicide sprays. Sex pheromone mating disruption of plum fruit and light brown apple moths, and granulovirus biocontrol for summer fruit tortrix moth were also researched. Other approaches were shown to be less promising, including passive vectoring of entomopathogenic fungi by ants to control aphids, use of volatiles from plum fruits to attract plum fruit moth females and autumn applications of entomopathogenic nematodes to infect and kill overwintering plum fruit moth larvae. In the final two years of the project Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPDM) strategies for plums and cherries combining the biological methods developed with best crop husbandry practices were evaluated in large-scale trials in commercial practice. The IPDM programmes developed were

20 16 Western Flower Thrip and damaged strawberries (right) demonstrated to be, in general, as effective as the growers standard programmes. In addition, the IPDM programme reduced the number of detectable pesticide residues in harvested fruit in both cherry and plum. The average annual cost for crop protection products was not very different between the two programmes, though there were large differences among sites and years. The final year of the Horticulture LINK project Biological, semiochemical and selective chemical management methods for insecticide resistant western flower thrips (WFT) on protected strawberry with science partners ADAS Boxworth, Warwick Crop Centre, University of Keele and Natural Resources Institute was completed in Practical methods for assessing WFT populations in strawberry flowers with attendant damage thresholds, strategies for introduction of Neoseiulus cucumeris predatory mites and Orius predatory bugs and semiochemical based mass trapping methods were developed and evaluated in the field. WFT, which has developed resistance to insecticides, is proving to be a very damaging pest of strawberry and difficult to manage. The methods developed in the project have been shown to be crucial to the effective management of WFT. The final year of the Horticulture LINK project Developing biocontrol methods and their integration in sustainable pest and disease management in blackcurrant production was also completed in For disease management, biological control agents (BCAs) for botrytis were evaluated, and the physiological basis for variation between varieties in botrytis susceptibility and the relationships between cultivar, weather conditions and post-harvest disease were investigated. Pollination studies showed that insect pollinators of blackcurrant mainly consisted of solitary bees and bumble bees, and contributed up to 35% of fruit set. Insect pollinated fruits were also

21 17 Solitary bee Sawfly caterpillars significantly larger than wind pollinated fruits. In cage trials, managed bumblebees mitigated the effects of poor pollination by wild bees. The majority of the solitary bees consisted of Andrenid species ground nesting bees. Some wild bee species were found to be in and around the crop before and after flowering and so forage and nesting provision would be likely to enhance wild pollinator numbers in the crop in following years. There was some evidence that bees transmit botrytis spores, but the contribution to fruit set outweighed these effects. For pests, experiments to assess crop damage showed that blackcurrant leaf midge attacks in established plantations have no significant effect on yield, though they cause severe growth stunting in young and re-growing cut-down bushes. The use of sex pheromone traps to time sprays was also determined and trap thresholds developed. The blackcurrant sawfly sex pheromone has been identified and used to develop a sensitive pest specific trap for monitoring this sporadic pest in crops. Several significant staff changes occurred in the programme during Dr Jean Fitzgerald retired from East Malling Research in May, after a long career as a fruit entomologist. She is an acknowledged expert on biocontrol in fruit crops, with special expertise in phytoseiid predatory mites. Jean s retirement is only partial as she will continue to work for East Malling Services Ltd (EMS) for the foreseeable future. Jennifer Kingsnorth and Bethan Shaw were recruited as technicians to support plant pathology and entomology work, respectively. Dr Charles Whitfield was recruited in October as a new research leader entomologist and spray application specialist to work on a three-year Innovate UK project to develop methods of quantifying spray deposits on crops. Charles studied for his PhD on Floral derived compounds as attractants for agricultural pests in the family Noctuidae part-time while working as a laboratory technician and has practical laboratory skills in insect culture, GC-EAG, Jean Fitzgerald talking to Dutch growers about the effect of root architecture on vine weevils Charles Whitfield

22 18 pest and pathogen ecology for sustainable crop management Soft fruit growers identifying larvae of Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) at an HDC/EMR Agronomists Day Ed Dobbs talking at the Illumina Day on developing methods for managing SWD behavioural bioassays, tissue culture and molecular work. At the end of the year Dr Edward Dobbs was recruited as a molecular entomologist in the PPESCM team to work on a new three-year EU FACCE JPI climate change project GENOMITE: New generation sustainable tools to control emerging mite pests under climate change. Three new students started their PhD studies: Nathan Medd on The identification of viral pathogens suitable for the control of Drosophila suzukii in the UK funded by AHDB and based jointly at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Centre for Immunity, Infection, and Evolution, University of Edinburgh; Callum Martin on the ecological and economic impacts of parasites in bumble bees, a four- year BBSRC CASE funded in collaboration with Royal Holloway University of London; and Dylan Hodgkiss Multitrophic ecosystem services of hoverflies resulting from Integrated Pest Management jointly funded by Royal Holloway University of London and EMR, registered at Royal Holloway University and based at EMR. In 2014 the programme team invested great efforts in securing new research grants from Innovate UK, EU and AHDB, substantially increasing research income. New large projects include: (i) developing methods for managing Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) (AHDB); (ii) a hand-held device for measuring and optimising spray deposits (Innovate UK); (iii) feasibility of developing autonomous SmartTraps for remote monitoring SWD (Innovate UK); (iv) GENOMITE: New generation sustainable tools to control emerging mite pests under climate change (EU climate change project); and (v) non-invasive detection of latent infection in fruit using electronic noses (Innovate UK).

23 19 Hoverfly photo taken from a poster by Dylan Hodgkiss entitled Multitrophic Ecosystems, Tetranychus Urticae (Two spotted spider mite) Services of Hoverflies in Strawberry Exploiting arthropods and antagonists in fruit crops Tree and bush fruits are grown as long-term perennial crops of varying duration (tree fruits typically for years). The plant canopy is semi-permanent and fruit crops thus provide relatively stable ecological habitats which can support rich and diverse faunas of arthropods and microorganisms including harmful, beneficial and benign species. The soil beneath perennial crops is generally undisturbed by cultivation. Additionally, fruit crops are usually surrounded by, and often contain, hedgerows and/or natural windbreaks, the composition of which varies greatly from single species to diverse. The exception is strawberry, which is increasingly grown for 1 2 years and where the soil is regularly cultivated and sterilised between crops. However, strawberry is vegetatively propagated, and planting material often has pre-existing communities of arthropods and microorganisms, the latter especially on roots, which can be exploited to increase plant health in fruiting crops. PPESCM is engaged in several research projects which aim to develop ways of exploiting and enhancing existing beneficial organisms for controlling or managing harmful species in fruiting crops, including the nature of disease suppressive soils. Exploiting hoverflies Hoverflies (Syrphids) are important biological control agents in many fruit and vegetable crops, with larvae that are voracious predators which can effectively reduce populations of aphid pests. Dylan Hodgkiss (a PhD student co-supervised by Dr Michelle Fountain) will identify the ecological and economic impact of hoverflies on pest control and pollination in strawberry crops. He will determine environmental features that drive hoverfly populations, so that growers can foster

24 20 pest and pathogen ecology for sustainable crop management Leaf damage caused by rosy apple aphid Earwig eating an aphid Hoverflies part of the project is to determine which wild flowers attract hoverflies this key pest control agent. HDC project TF 218, led by Dr Chantelle Jay, will determine whether hoverflies can be increased or manipulated in apple orchards using synthesised plant or aphid volatiles as attractants. Attractive chemicals will also be combined with visual cues. This aims to reduce populations of aphids such as the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea, which can lead to curled leaves and misshapen fruits with resultant crop loss. These projects are compatible with IPM and organic systems and support the Sustainable Use Directive which aims to protect horticultural crops against pests by using resilient integrated management systems, with less reliance on pesticide products, alongside protecting human health and the environment. Exploiting and enhancing earwigs in apple and pear orchards Earwigs (Forficula auricularia) are now recognised as important natural predators of many important pests of apples and pears, including aphids (especially woolly aphid), psyllids (including pear sucker), scale insects and codling moth. They are voracious nocturnal predators with a high prey consumption rate. They are omnivorous and can cause economic damage to some crops, particularly those with a thin or soft skin (e.g. peaches, strawberries). They were once considered to be an important pest of apples and pears and growers attempted to control them with pesticide sprays, but damage to apple and pear fruits is now generally considered to be only secondary, at points where the skin has already been damaged. Feeding on leaves and blossoms is common but of minor importance. EMR is engaged in a three-year Innovate UK research project led by WorldWide Fruit Ltd and Fruition PO, together with the Chemical Ecology Group, Natural

25 21 Resources Institute, Russell IPM and Agrovista as partners to study earwig populations in UK apple and pear orchards and their impact on pests. In the project so far, we have shown that populations vary greatly between orchards and in many orchards they are absent. A survey of 40 orchards (26 apple, 14 pear) in South East England for two successive years ( ) using bottle refuges showed enormous orchard-to-orchard variation in earwig abundance. Over half the apple orchards had no or virtually no earwigs, with numbers varying up to 80/refuge in the others. Numbers were considerably greater in pear orchards, though some pear orchards had none or few. Orchards with high woolly aphid, pear sucker or codling moth populations all had low earwig populations and conversely orchards with high earwig populations had low levels of these pests. Earwig numbers stayed consistent in individual orchards for the two successive years, despite the unusually wet winter of , which it was feared might kill earwigs overwintering in soil. Patterns of use of insecticides known to be harmful to F. auricularia (especially chlorpyrifos) and orchard age accounted for a significant part, but by no means all, of the variability. Significant progress has been made in developing new technologies to enhance earwig populations, and these will be made available commercially in 2016 after commercial testing in Pollination Insects are required for pollination in more than 75% of the world s crops and are essential for maintaining UK fruit productivity. Declines in numbers of wild pollinating insects have been reported for several years, but the causes are probably many and varied (e.g. changes in climate and weather patterns, pesticide use and land use resulting in loss of habitat). Coupled with more intensive fruit A plastic bottle and corrugated cardboard make an effective refuge for earwigs in the orchard

26 22 pest and pathogen ecology for sustainable crop management Solitary bee pollinating apple growing systems, this could have implications for the sustainability of fruit growing in the future. To build resilience in key insect crop pollinators, there is a need to identify the main contributing pollinator species of UK fruit crops. Research funded by the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, GSK, HDC, Sainsbury s and HortLINK has identified the most frequent insect fruit blossom visitors. In apple, insect visits were dominated by honeybees (Apis mellifera), bumblebees and solitary bees. The number of bees visiting pear and blackcurrant were about half the number of those visiting apple blossoms. Honeybees and solitary bees were the dominant visitors to pear blossoms, but far fewer honeybees visited blackcurrant flowers. The solitary mining bees Andrena dorsata, A. haemorrhoa, A. flavipes and the bumble bees Bombus terrestris/lucorum and B. lapidarius) were common in all three crops. In experiments which excluded insects from blossoms insect pollinators contributed up to 35% of blackcurrant and 10% of pear fruit set. Future research will examine the effects of insect pollinators on fruit nutrition and other quality traits important for human health and long-term fruit storage. We will identify the most efficacious insect pollinators, i.e. how much pollen honeybees, solitary bees, bumblebees or hoverflies deposit on the stigma of the flower. Results will lead to a better understanding of how fruit growing systems can be optimised sustainably, to mitigate the effects of pollination shortfalls and to manage insect pollination in fruit crops.

27 23 Metagenomic analysis of soil samples using the illumina MiSeq The findings of the soil profiles for bacteria (top) and fungi (below) Nature of disease suppressive soils Yield decline in strawberry due to weak plant growth was recently observed in non-chemo-fumigated soils. The decline was not associated with the soil fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae, the main target of fumigation. In a project led by Professor Xiangming Xu, amplicon-based metagenomics were used to profile soil microbiota in samples from sites with and without yield-decline. More than 2,000 fungal or bacterial operational taxonomy units (OTUs) were found in these samples. The relative abundance of individual OTUs was statistically compared for differential abundance between samples from sites with or without yield decline. Results suggested that yield decline resulted probably from one or more of the following factors: (i) low abundance of Bacillus and Pseudomonas populations, which are well known for their ability to suppress pathogen development and/or promoting plant growth; (ii) lack of nematophagous fungus (Paecilomyces species); (iii) high levels of two non-specific fungal root rot pathogens (Ilyonectria spp., releated to Cylindrocarpon); and (iv) wet soil conditions. This illustrates the complex nature of interactions among biotic and abioctic factors affecting plant growth and the importance of abundant beneficial microbes in soil for crop production. Further, the study also demonstrated the usefulness of an amplicon-based metagenomics approach to profile soil microbiota, to detect differential abundance in microbes, and to identify candidate organisms for further hypothesis testing and confirmatory studies.

28 24 pest and pathogen ecology for sustainable crop management Youngest leaves Oldest leaves Petiole Crown In an HDC funded project to determine the endophytic profile of strawberry, Robert Saville is using an amplicon-based metagenomics approach to identify the species present in different strawberry tissues (left), cultivars and growing situations to form a baseline for future study and exploitation Endophytes and Epiphytes Endophytes are micro-organisms (usually fungi or bacteria) which live within the cells of plants without causing apparent disease. Endophytic associations with plants are ubiquitous across the plant kingdom, and yet this area of plant-microorganism interaction is little understood and potentially under-exploited. Conversely, epiphytic microorganisms (i.e. microorganisms which live on the plant surface) have long been recognised as potential antagonists and several have been exploited commercially for the control of their pathogenic contemporaries. It has been reported that endophytic associations between microorganism and plant tends to be mutualistic, with the former benefiting from the protected, long-lived and nutrient-rich environment of the host and the latter benefiting from one or more of the following: an increase in systemic resistance to pathogens and pests, improved tolerance to abiotic stresses, enhanced uptake of water and minerals and increased growth. Other shades of endophytism have been reported where associations are commensal (such as latent saprophytic micro-organisms, which have a competitive advantage over other saprophytes when the host tissue dies) and potentially parasitic (such as endophytic micro-organisms which switch to a pathogenic phase when the host experiences a stress which weakens the defence system). We are applying the amplicon-based metagenomics approach mentioned above to gain a greater insight into the epiphytic and endophytic communities associated with Rosaceous crops. These findings will contribute to a greater understanding of the epidemiology of pathogenic microorganisms and offer the potential to exploit native antagonistic microorganisms in the future.

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31 resource efficiency for crop production: Dr Mark Else 27 UK horticulture continues to invest heavily in science and technology and significant increases in marketable yield have been achieved in recent years, due to more intensive plantings of new, high-yielding varieties with improved organoleptic qualities. However, further increases are possible if agronomy can be optimised to improve resource partitioning and consistency of cropping and to minimise pre- and post-harvest losses. A better understanding of how to predict and manage the influence of environmental variables on the timing and intensity of cropping will also help to improve accuracy of crop yield forecasts, thereby ensuring higher product pricing and improved grower margins. Research in the Resource Efficiency for Crop Protection (RECP) science programme aims to develop and deliver new approaches, tools and technologies to help the industry achieve consistently higher yields of first class, phytonutritious produce with an assured shelf-life, while ensuring that resources such as water, fertiliser, energy and light are used more effectively and efficiently. Scientific, technological and meteorological solutions are being developed in ongoing and new research projects funded by Innovate UK, the Agri-Tech Catalyst, the HDC, retailers including Marks & Spencer Ltd and Waitrose Ltd, and in commissioned R&D from Berry Gardens Growers Ltd and Worldwide Fruit Ltd. One facet of this work is to develop precision irrigation and fertigation systems that match demand with supply to help improve resource use efficiency and consistency of produce quality. In addition to delivering the anticipated 20% savings in water and fertiliser inputs, experiments at EMR and on-farm have again shown that marketable yields can be increased by 20% and consistency of berry quality can be improved. At the same time, innovative imaging systems are being developed to ease the integration of these low-input approaches into commercial practice, so that consistency of cropping, plant performance and crop responses to abiotic and biotic stresses can be monitored and measured in real time to inform and improve on-farm decision making. Mike Davies checking irrigation set points on a commercial site

32 28 resource efficiency for crop production Soil moisture probes are being used to target water and fertilisers to the rooting zone of tree fruit crops In intensive orchards under commercial fertigation regimes, Dr Eleftheria Stavridou has shown that during the growing season, nitrate concentrations in the soil solution at 60 cm depth were similar or higher to the concentrations in the fertigation solution, suggesting that a substantial proportion of added N is lost via leaching. Results indicate that the extent of nitrate leaching differs between apple varieties, and further research will help to identify the underlying mechanisms. The effects of different management practices on soil quality and the consequences for soil health are being investigated by Dr Emma Tilston, who continues to build EMR s capability in soil science research. Sample of phase III mushroom compost being taken to determine the effect of nutritional supplements on Agaricus bosporus gene expression The potential of precision irrigation to improve mushroom yields and quality and reduce the impact of bacterial blotch disease is being investigated by Prof. Ralph Noble in a new Innovate UK project, led by G s Fresh. Most aspects of mushroom cultivation are precisely controlled, but the decision to apply water is subjective, depending on visual observation of the crop and feel of the casing, while the moisture status of the underlying compost remains unknown. Precise, sensor controlled irrigation to the two substrate layers in mushroom cultivation will lead to improved yields of higher quality, with less crop and water wastage. Manipulating the cropping substrate by adding nutritional supplements can also improve mushroom quality and Dr Kerry Burton s experiments have shown that both the cap whiteness and density of Agaricus mushrooms can also be influenced by the straw and manure components of the cropping substrate. Increased cap density not only improves quality as firmer textured mushrooms are produced, but reduces picking cost, a major cost component of mushroom production. The mechanism of how the nutritional supplements can improve mushroom yields is being analysed by gene expression analysis using microarrays.

33 29 Dr Emma Skipper conducting tomato tasting trials on different tomato varieties PhD student Antonio Lorente uses thermal imaging to identify water-stressed strawberry plants plants under visible light (left) and the thermal image clearly showing stress in the yellow and red areas (right) Optimising produce quality throughout the supply chain is a major goal, and research was carried out by Dr Gerard Bishop in collaboration with Thanet Earth using tomato as a model fruit to gain a better understanding of how different genotypes behave in different storage temperatures. Of particular interest was the change in the epicuticular wax composition in the different storage conditions, but further, more detailed analysis is required to gain better understanding of the relevance of this change. In collaboration with colleagues from the GCI programme, Dr Emma Skipper identified a novel flesh colour locus in sweet cherry through linkage map construction and QTL analysis. Characterisation of the locus has identified 31 predicted genes, one of which is currently being investigated further as a candidate gene involved in the control of the trait. Emma is also leading industry-funded research to evaluate the fruit quality attributes, storability and suitability for processing of EMR s historical apple advanced selections (breeding lines) for fresh apple juice production. The role of stress-induced changes in ethylene production in the regulation of berry phytonutrient concentrations, and how this relationship might be manipulated using beneficial stresses, is also being investigated by Antonio Llorente, PhD student registered at the University of Reading. EMR s research into root biology continues on several fronts. Understanding how root system architecture can be manipulated so that water and nutrient acquisition is improved under low-input production systems is key to improving crop resilience and sustainable food security. Collaborative work at EMR involving Dr Carlos Trejo (Posgrado de Botanica, Campus Montecillo, Mexico) and Prof Chris Atkinson (Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich) has shown that wheat root biomass and total root length are greatly stimulated when seminal roots pass The soil in the tube is divided into a wet region and a dry region by a membrane through which the roots can grown The response of wheat seminal root growth to soils of different moisture contents

34 30 resource efficiency for crop production Tomato plants grafted with dwarfing rootstocks Close-up to show the difference in root growth from wet soil into dry soil, and that the intensity of the response is proportional to the water content of the dry soil. The rapid promotion of root growth occurs within six days of encountering dry soil and is then maintained in the absence of any perturbations in shoot growth or physiology. This finding is of great commercial significance, since recent evidence has refocused attention on the importance of early root development and growth in determining crop yields. Further work is being carried out to understand the signalling mechanisms that promote root growth when wheat seminal roots encounter dry soils. Commercial fruit production often utilises rootstocks grafted onto scions to impart beneficial traits such as vigour control, precocity of cropping, disease tolerance and increased yields. However, the complexity of the interactions between rootstocks and scions remain poorly understood at the molecular level. Dr Gerard Bishop used tomato dwarfing mutants as rootstocks on a common scion to show that the reduced root growth did not compromise scion growth. The lack of effect of the dwarfing mutations on plant growth may be due to several factors, including the optimal irrigation and fertigation regime employed during the experiment, but these initial results provide tantalising ideas for further experiments to investigate how rootstocks affect scion growth. Transcriptome and metabolite profiling in rootstock, graft union and scion tissue are helping to improve our understanding of how dwarfing and other beneficial traits are conferred, and Dr Nicola Harrison s work into the genetic interactions between dwarfing apple rootstocks and their scions is described below. How rootstock genotypes interact with the rhizosphere microbiota and how this interaction influences their response to soil-borne pathogens and disease complexes is being investigated in a new cross-cutting programme of research involving scientists from RECP and GCI.

35 31 The refurbished Rhizolab < During the year, the final stages of the refurbishment of the Rhizolab were completed and four grass species and three apple rootstocks were planted in preparation for a long-term study on root and soil carbon. The plots will be instrumented to record temperature and water content during early A PhD student, Ben Pennington, registered at the University of Dundee, has been working in the Rhizolab with Dr Nicola Harrison to develop rapid and reproducible means of imaging roots and collecting quantitative information about root architecture. Finally, we welcome Dr Julien Lecourt to the RECP team, in the role of tree physiologist. Julien s primary expertise is in the nutrition and physiology of wine grape production, gathered during his PhD studies at INRA, Bordeaux, and he has already made very good progress in laying the foundations for grape research at EMR, in collaboration with the UK wine and table grape industries. In addition, Julien s research plans for tree fruit include ways of trying to optimise light interception by the canopy to help drive increased production of quality fruit an aim that the industry supports very strongly.

36 32 update on rootstock research at EMR - a case study: Dr Mark Else Root structure being examined in the 1950s At the beginning of the 20th century, the scientific study of rootstock and scion relationships in fruit trees emerged as an important area of horticultural research. Malus rootstocks were initially characterised at EMR by Hatton, Amos and colleagues and this led to further physiological studies aimed at understanding how the rootstock and scion interact to produce consistent phenotypes such as small tree stature and precocity. The nature of this interaction is so complex and varied that over a century later, the ways in which dwarfing apple (Malus) rootstocks impart growth control over grafted scions have not been fully elucidated. However, on-going research at EMR suggests that rootstock effects are bestowed through cumulative and interactive effects of several different processes operating simultaneously. These may include a filtering effect of the graft union at slow transpirational flow rates, augmentation of xylem sap constituents by passage through the union at faster flows, inhibition of polar auxin transport in rootstock tissues and an altered synthesis, transport or metabolism of key rootstock-sourced hormone signals. In Malus, the diametric growth of the graft union generally increases with the dwarfing potential of the rootstock and the convoluted xylem tissues within the union often run at different angles to the main axis of the stem. Swelling of the graft union as the tree ages may be a compensatory response to overcome the hydraulic limitations induced by the altered xylogenesis within the union. At EMR, research in which a series of pneumatic pressures were applied to roots of intact composite potted trees in split-top pressure chambers to generate a range of flows extant in transpiring trees has shown that xylem sap composition is altered by passage through the graft union, and the effects vary depending on solute and flow rate. In M9 composite trees, sap osmolality and Ca concentrations were significantly lowered by passage through the graft union at the slowest flow rate, which agrees with earlier work showing that Ca accumulated in the graft union of several rootstock/scion combinations. In M9, sap concentrations of NO 3,

37 33 Potted tree in split top pressure chamber (below and right) and a diagrammatic representation of the measurements that were taken (far right) Water flow through excised branch measured Sap expelled from current seasons growth Sap collected above graft union Sap collected below graft union Osmotically exuding sap BALANCE Gravimetric measurements of transpiration rates Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Zeatin (Z) and Zeatin Riboside (ZR) were also reduced by passage through the graft union. These findings agree in part with the work of Owen Jones and others who showed that the solute concentration of sap and [N], [P] and [K] were depleted after passage through the graft union of M9 composite trees. In these earlier studies, sap exuding slowly under osmotic forces was used and our work suggests that, for certain solutes (e.g. Ca), this 'filtering effect' of the graft union was only manifested at very slow flow rates, while for others (e.g. NO 3 ) the filtering only occurred at the faster flow rates. Furthermore, sap [Ca] was augmented by passage through the M9 graft union at higher flows; the source of this Ca may be that sequestered at slow flows. The mechanistic basis of this flow-rate dependent switch between sequestration and augmentation in the tissues of the graft union is, at present, unclear. However, the flow-rate dependent cumulative removal or augmentation of physiologically important solutes such as Ca and NO 3 by the graft union over the life of the tree could significantly alter scion growth and development and post-harvest fruit quality. in addition to these changes in the ionic composition of the xylem sap, we found that the export of Abscisic Acid (ABA) into the scion was two-fold greater from M9 rootstocks than from MM106 rootstocks, particularly once the effects of flow rate, leaf area and root mass were taken into account. Again, these results are supported by previous work that showed ABA concentrations to be higher in the tissues of the more dwarfing rootstocks. ABA is generally considered to be a potent growth inhibitor, so the greater delivery of this hormone into the canopy of trees grafted onto M9 rootstocks at a time when shoot extension had ceased is an important finding. ABA has been shown to limit extension growth by supressing the accumulation of Gibberellic Acid (GA 1 ), but whether rootstock-sourced ABA and scion-derived GAs interact to regulate shoot extension in grafted scions is not yet known.

38 34 update on rootstock research at EMR A tranverse section of an M27 rootstock and M27 in the orchard (right) In addition to rootstock-derived signals, a disruption to polar auxin transport (PAT) has also been implicated in the dwarfing response. Previous work has shown that when an auxin transport inhibitor was applied to the stem of invigorating rootstocks, total shoot growth of the scion was decreased and the resulting architectural changes most closely resembled those imposed by M9. In our work, PAT velocity was reduced in more dwarfing apple rootstocks compared to more invigorating ones, in agreement with previous reports. However, simultaneous measurements of PAT velocity and intensity are needed to provide information on the likely flow of IAA through the PAT. Our work with micro propagated rootstock lines showed that PAT intensity correlates with the dwarfing capability of the rootstocks. The most invigorating rootstock, M7, had the highest PAT intensity, while the most dwarfing, 7.33 had the lowest PAT intensity, and sensitivity to polar auxin transport inhibitors varied between rootstocks. The reasons for these differences are not known, but could include the number of cells capable of polar transport, the activity, turnover or membrane trafficking of the efflux carriers, or the concentrations of, or sensitivity to, naturally-occurring polar transport inhibitors. Disruption of PAT may also contribute to the effects of grafted bark tissue on scion vigour, an effect that has been attributed solely to the interruption of phloem-transported IAA. The stimulatory effect of IAA on xylem development and cambial activity in woody species is well established and the altered xylogenesis within the graft union referred to above may arise from an accumulation of scion-derived IAA in and above the graft union due, in part, to a reduced ability of the rootstock to transport IAA to the roots via PAT. The reduced IAA flux to a dwarfing rootstocks could also account for the greater phloem to xylem ratio observed in more dwarfing rootstocks by Beakbane and colleagues, as low concentrations of IAA preferentially induce differentiation of phloem rather than xylem.

39 35 M116/Gala M27/Gala Comparisons of root bark and cortex of rootstock scion combinations, using vessel M116/116 M27/27 counting software < The known differences in root bark ratio between rootstock of differing vigour control have been used to develop a three-locus model that explains the levels of dwarfing beyond that of M27, to the semi-invigorating rootstock M116. The root bark percentage (the percentage of the whole root area constituted by root cortex) was measured in a bi-parental cross on ungrafted trees and found to be under the control of three loci. Two Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for root bark percentage were found to co-localise to the same genomic regions on chromosome 5 and chromosome 11 previously identified as controlling dwarfing. A third QTL was identified on chromosome 13 in a region that has not been previously associated with dwarfing. A link between root bark percentage and rootstock-induced vigour control of the scion, was also found, which suggests that QTL Rb3 is an analogous QTL to Dw3. There has been comparatively little study of the physiological effects of scions on the performance of rootstocks, although studies at EMR by Hatton and Vyvyan and later by Tubbs demonstrated that the scion had some influence in determining tree weight. We are using root imaging techniques to study the physiological effects of scions on the performance of rootstocks. Three commercially available apple rootstocks conferring differing levels of vigour, M27 (highly dwarfing), M9 (dwarfing) and M116 (semi-invigorating) were used as both rootstock and scion in reciprocally grafted combinations to determine the effect of the scion upon the rootstock and root system architecture. The trees were grown in thin rhizotrons (100 cm height, 30 cm width and 3 cm depth) containing loam and placed in a heated glasshouse with supplementary lighting and fertigation. The root systems were photographed with a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera at monthly intervals for a period of five months, and the images analysed using SmartRoot and MATLAB software to determine total root length and root diameter frequency. Differences in total root length and root distribution were apparent after five

40 36 update on rootstock research at EMR Automatic using SmartRoot and MATLAB software Manual An example of manual root tracing compared to automated segmentation Original digital image from the camera months. M27 had a shallow and fibrous root system whereas M116 had a deep and coarse root system with more lateral roots appearing deeper in the soil. Our results show that the scion can have a significant effect that manifests as changes to the root system architecture. However, the extent of these changes are dependent upon the rootstock-scion combination. Further studies are needed to investigate the genetic mechanisms and hormonal signals behind the control of root growth and development in apple and to determine how these elements are modified when grafted. This research will eventually help to uncouple dwarfing effects from root system architecture so that new size-controlling rootstocks can be developed with deeply penetrating root systems that are able to acquire resources from deeper soil layers. The three camera system of periodically recording growth (right)

41 Vessel counting software, developed by Bo Li at EMR, has allowed microscopic observations of phylum fibres, root bark %, xylem and parenchyma rays

42 38 studentships: Felicidad Fernández Fernández Dr Nicola Harrison Student co-ordinators, Feli Fernández and Dr Nicola Harrison < Postgraduate Studentships New enrolment The number of postgraduate students at EMR increased during 2014 from 12 to 17 with the recruitment of five new students in collaborative projects with the Universities of Nottingham, Reading, Royal Holloway, London and Northwest Agriculture & Forestry, China. The studentships are funded through various schemes, including The East Malling Trust, BBSRC, HDC, the Chinese Scholar Council and Berry Gardens. The new studentships projects are: Early detection of stress in strawberry plants using novel image analysis techniques Rhizosphere microbiota in relation to wilt development Improving control of two invasive pest species, Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) and Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) Multitrophic ecosystem services of hoverflies resulting from Integrated Pest Management Multitrophic impacts on the supply of a key ecosystem service: economic and ecological impacts of parasites on pollination Dr Louisa Robinson-Boyer talking to visiting growers Degrees awarded Dr Louisa Robinson-Boyer successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled Population biology and interactions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their benefits in strawberry cultivation. Supervisors were Professor Xiangming Xu at EMR and Professor Peter Jeffries at the University of Kent. Dr Robinson-Boyer has now taken a postdoctoral position at EMR working on the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in soil-less substrate.

43 39 The judges of the poster competition, Mike Solomon and Marion Regan, talk to Calum Martin about his poster < Greg Deakin (left) receives first prize for his poster entitled Characterisation of viruses of Agaricus bisporus by next generation sequencing < Dr Andrew Armitage successfully defended his PhD thesis Alternaria leafspot pathogens: genetics, evolutionary history and diagnostics. Andrew s supervisor was initially Dr Charles Lane, Consultant Plant Pathologist, Food and Environment Research Agency, and later Dr James Woodall, Molecular Plant Pathologist, Food and Environment Research Agency. The postgraduate student seminar series introduced in 2013 has been a success and is now continuing into its second year. The student-run seminars promote the development of key skills necessary for future employment in both research and business environments. The seminars allow students to practise their presentation skills and enable them to discuss their projects in an informal setting with their peers. The East Malling Trust sponsored a poster competition for students in December; the poster competition was won by Greg Deakin, with Michelle Hulin coming second. Leonardo Studentships 2014 also saw an increase in the number of overseas students and interns hosted by EMR. In total, twenty-one overseas and five UK interns joined our research teams under the auspices of the Leonardo da Vinci programme, Erasmus+ and other similar schemes. Most of the interns, graduates or final-year students in agronomy, biology or forestry, arrived in the spring to assist researchers during the busiest periods of the growing season, while gaining hands-on experience of work in a research environment and the UK horticultural fruit industry. Six of the 2014 intake have had the opportunity to continue working with EMR, EMS or the University of Greenwich on temporary contracts and a seventh will be joining us again next summer, whilst another one has stayed on as a PhD student with the University of Reading. This highlights the value of internships for graduates and EMR as well as for the universities with which we collaborate. v Antonio Gomez, one of the Leonardo students who have stayed on at EMR to gain laboratory experience

44 40 farm, glasshouse and field services: Graham Caspell To facilitate greater integration, the previously separate commercial Farm and Glasshouse and Field Services departments at EMR were merged to create one combined department. Within this larger department the labour component is a combination of full-time and seasonal staff, with some additional resource coming from industry-led apprenticeships based at Hadlow College. Climatically, 2014 was a different year from 2013 the winter and autumn were both exceptionally mild, with only slightly above average summer temperatures; the whole year set a new warmest year on record. This presented challenges for the team, with early growth of both crops and weeds. The impact of the weather on crops was substantial. Pears had a reasonable year, although russetting was common, which was unfortunate as the Concept Pear Orchard should have yielded its largest crop to date. Apples were good, although the incidence of scab, especially on Gala, was quite high. Production of organic apples decreased in area slightly and now occupies just over 5.5 ha. Plantings consist mainly of scab-resistant varieties identified as suitable for organic production from previous EMR research projects. The yield of organic apples in 2014 was higher than in the previous year, with further increases possible in the coming years. Pear blossom in the Concept Pear Orchard in late March <

45 41 Novel apple variety with yellow skin and Picking Red Love apples < pink flesh < < The farm has a multi-functional role at EMR. While the emphasis has previously been on supporting EMR s science, increasingly there is a shift towards using the farm to demonstrate best practice, latest technologies and putting science into practice. This will be achieved alongside the commercial function of the farm. Although challenging, it will greatly help in the drive for the uptake of science by industry. The farm team excavating an oak tree for a BBC film crew (above) and a group photo of the team (below) < During 2013/14, the farm worked with several of the major retailers, producer organisations and other businesses to plant new and exciting crops, using new techniques and new varieties. The increasing portfolio of novel plantings includes: Red Love apples, Sweet Sensation pears, the Concept Pear Orchard, two new cherry orchards, Lizzie plums, table grapes, and a new apple orchard. All of the companies involved are using EMR to showcase latest developments aimed at taking forward the commercial aspirations of the industry. The demonstration of EMR science on site has further been enhanced by the adoption of best practice irrigation and fertigation schedules. This commercial implementation of the ground-breaking science led by Dr Mark Else has the potential to make significant crop quality improvements while simultaneously reducing water and fertiliser use. Other science-driven, best-practice activities include crop monitoring and cultural methodologies aimed at reducing the incidence of Spotted Wing Drosophila. At the end of 2014 the farm team were once again busy excavating a tree to help highlight its full root structure. This year s specimen was a young oak tree (Quercus robur) which was extracted, intact, for a BBC television documentary just another task in the very varied roles of the farm at East Malling Research. The finished tree is admired by tv presenter George McGavin

46 42 wealth and job creation through innovation Scientific research results in knowledge that can lead to economic and wider societal benefits but to achieve this, the knowledge gained must be translated into a commercial environment to deliver the products and services that people want. Throughout its century-long existence, research at EMR has delivered many benefits to the UK and global horticultural industries, a record that is envied by many. During 2014, EMR commissioned and published an independent report, Capturing the socio-economic impact of East Malling Research. The report highlights a selection of the main areas of impact and estimates their value to the economy: Malling rootstocks: 8.2 billion net benefit (minimum) to global fruit production between 1920 and 1960 Controlled Atmosphere storage: 700 million benefit between 1930 and 1970 with on-going annual savings of 1.2 million for every 1% of lost crop Strawberry varieties: Annual gross margin increases of 2 million p.a. for EMR varieties, with annual import displacement of 1.64 million Strawberry productivity, quality and margins improved through deficit irrigation research are valued at 8,100 per ha with a potential industry uplift of 15.1 million p.a. Pest and disease work at East Malling is benefiting the soft and tree fruit industries by million annually Overall the report recognises that EMR currently generates 7.5 for the UK economy for

47 43 every 1 spent on research. To build on this sound base, EMR has established a Technical Advisory Committee with membership from across the horticultural industries. This Committee provides a forward-looking view of the industries research priorities that can inform EMR s research strategy and provide a mechanism for knowledge exchange, with the ultimate goal of developing commercially useful services and products. capturing the socio-economic impact of east malling research October 2014

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49 communications: Ross Newham, head of communications Dr Ursula Twomey, communications manager 45 EMR strives to remain relevant to today s horticultural industry, and our research and communications strategies continue to be informed by UK Government policies relating to health, nutrition, sustainable and local food production, food security, biosecurity, climate change and pesticide residue reduction, with a view to supporting a profitable and competitive UK fresh and prepared produce industry. On a day-to-day basis, interaction with industry is undertaken through individual research leaders and EMR s external communications programme. This programme showcases the breadth and quality of knowledge generated at EMR. It facilitates engagement between scientists and EMR s wide range of interested parties from growers and industry professionals, to policy makers and the general public. A variety of methods are used to communicate the outcomes of our research efforts through interaction with print and broadcast media, corporate literature production, site visits, technical events, crop walks, open days and trade events. In 2014 events commenced with the launch of a major European-funded project on water, which is providing farmers and growers with tools and information to improve water use efficiency and save costs. This was followed by four East Malling Research Association (EMRA) technical events on fruit storage, tree fruit research, soft fruit research and DNA sequencing, which attracted well over 300 delegates including growers, advisors, producer organisations, funders and students. EMR also participated in three external trade events including Fruit Focus, the National Fruit Show and the inaugural Food Matters Live, an event to showcase developments in nutrition and health.

50 46 Nicola Harrison shows the Rhizolab to visitors from the Tyrol region, Italy Visitors from the NFU in the Produce Quality Centre Two Newsletters were produced for Members of EMRA and there was a good uptake of press releases. Four articles were published by national and international magazines. We organised interviews for local and national media, including an article for The Independent magazine, and filming for two national productions due to air in 2015 and We also arranged more than 20 visits (over 250 people) for UK-based and overseas groups from Europe and Asia. Julien Lecourt talking to some visitors from East Kent Fruit Society v Researchers at EMR continue to benefit from much international collaboration, and are involved in partnerships including a formal collaboration with the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry which continues to flourish and develop. EMR also supports and encourages researchers to travel on study tours or to conferences, to spread the word about EMR s science, to establish new collaborations and to keep up-to-date with cutting-edge practices. In all, scientists from EMR made more than 30 trips overseas in 2014 travelling to all parts of the globe. Emma Skipper attended the 5th Post Harvest Unlimited conference, Cyprus

51

52 48 emr: staff publications Included here are scientific publications, reviews, books or book chapters externally peer-reviewed or edited; similarly edited contributions to learned society proceedings; theses; and articles in the horticultural trade press. Not included in this list are abstracts, presentations (commodity, Members or open days, etc.); posters; interim or final reports on contracts, e.g. HDC, Defra and commercial in confidence ; patents (granted or applied for); plant variety rights (granted or applied for); protein or DNA sequences submitted to online databases; web page items. Refereed journals: BINK M.C.A.M., JANSEN J., MADDURI M., VOORRIPS R.E., DUREL C.-E., KOUASSI A.B., LAURENS F., MATHIS F., GESSLER C., DAVIDE P., REZZONICO F., PATOCCHI A., KELLERHALS M., BOUDICHEVSKAJA K., DUNEMANN F., PEIL A., NOWICKA A., LATA B., STANKIEWICZ-KOSYL M., JEZIOREK K., PITERA E., SOSKA A., TOMALA K., EVANS K.M., FERNÁNDEZ-FERNÁNDEZ F., GUERRA W., KORBIN M., KELLE S., LEWANDOWSKI M., PLOCHARSKIW., RUTKOWSKI K., ZURAWICZ E., COSTA F., SANSAVINNI S., TARTARINI S., KOMJANC M., MOTT D., ANTOFIE A., LATEUR M., RONDIA A., GIANFRANCESCHI L., & VAN DE WEG W.E. (2014). Bayesian QTL analyses using pedigreed families of an outcrossing species, with application to fruit firmness in apple. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 127: DOI /s BIRD M.I., LEVCHENKO V., ASCOUGH P.L., MEREDITH W., WURSTER C.M., WILLIAMS A., TILSTON E.L., SNAPE C.E., APPERLEY D.C. (2014). The efficiency of charcoal decontamination for radiocarbon dating by three pre-treatments ABOX, ABA and hypy. Quaternary Geochronology 22, BRAIN P., KIRBY S. & LARIONOV R. (2014). Fitting Emax models to clinical trial dose-response data when the high dose asymptote is ill defined. Pharmaceutical Statistics 13 (6), BRAIN P., STRIMENOPOULOU F., DIUKOVA A., BERRY E., JOLLY A., HALL J.E., WISE R.G, IVARSSON M., WILSON F.J. (2014). Extracting drug mechanism and pharmacodynamic information from clinical electroencephalographic data using generalised semi-linear canonical correlation analysis. Physiological Measurement 35 (12), 2459 DEBODE J., VAN HEMELRIJCK W., XU X.-M., MAES M., CREEMERS P. & HEUNGENS K. (2014). Latent introduction and spread of Colletotrichum acutatum in strawberry fields. Plant Pathology DOI: /ppa FERNÁNDEZ-FERNÁNDEZ F., PADMARASU S., ŠURBANOVSKI N., EVANS K.M., TOBUTT K.R., SARGENT D.J. (2014). Characterisation of the virescent locus controlling a recessive phenotype in apple rootstocks (Malus pumila Mill.) Molecular Breeding 33 (2): DOI: /s FOUNTAIN M.T., JÅSTAD G., HALL D., DOUGLAS P., FARMAN D., CROSS J.V. (2014). Further studies on sex pheromones of female Lygus and related bugs: Development of effective lures and investigation of species-specificity. Journal of Chemical Ecology 40, GILHESPY S.L., ANTHONY S., CARDENAS L., CHADWICK D., DEL PRADO A., LI C., MISSELBROOK T., REES R.M., SALAS W., SANZ-COBENA A., SMITH P., TILSTON E.L., TOPP C.F.E., VETTER S. & YELURIPATI J.B. (2014). First 20 years of DNDC (DeNitrification DeComposition): Model evolution. Ecological Modelling 292, GREGORY P.J. & INGRAM J.S.I. (2014). Food production and land use. In: Rethinking Global Land Use in an Urban Era (eds K.C. Seto & A. Reenberg). Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 14, J. Lupp, series ed. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press HATEGAN L., GODZA, B., KOZMA-BOGNAR L., BISHOP G.J. & SZEKERES, M. (2014) Differential expression of the brassinosteroid receptor-encoding BRI1 gene in Arabidopsis. Planta 239, HARRIS A. & SHAW B. (2014). First record of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera, Drosophilidae) in Great Britain. Dipterists Digest, 21 HIPPS N.A, DAVIES M.J., DUNN J.M., GRIFFITHS H. & ATKINSON C.J. (2014). Effects of two contrasting canopy manipulations on growth and water use of London plane (Platanus x acerifolia) trees. Plant and Soil 382 (1 2), HU D.-F., SHANG W.-J., BAI Y.W., XU X.-M., & HU X.-P. (2014). Whole genome wide expression profiles of germination of Verticillium dahliae microsclerotia. PLOS One DOI: /journal.pone

53 MAZORRA MORALES L.M., SENN M.E., GROZEFF G.E., FANELLO D.D., CARRIÓN C.A., NÚÑEZ M., BISHOP G.J., & BARTOLI C.G. (2014). Impact of brassinosteroids and ethylene on ascorbic acid accumulation in tomato leaves. Plant Physiol Biochem. 74, ROBINSON-BOYER L., BRAIN P., JEFFRIES P. & XU X.-M., (2014). Effect of inoculation of drought-stressed strawberry with a mixed inoculum of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: qpcr studies of population dynamics of inoculum in roots. Mycorrhizae DOI /s RUNGJINDAMAI N., JEFFRIES P. & XU X.-M. (2014). Epidemiology and management of brown rot on stone fruit caused by Monilinia laxa. European. Journal of Plant Pathology 140: DOI /s TILSTON E.L., HALPIN C., HOPKINS D.W. (2014). Simultaneous down-regulation of enzymes in the phenylpropanoid pathway of plants has aggregated effects on rhizosphere microbial communities. Biology and Fertility of Soils 50, WANG J.-J., TAO F., AN F., XU X.-M. & HU X.-P. (2014). Selection of reference genes in wheat stressed by temperature and Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici. Acta Phytopathologica Sinica 44: WIBE A., BORG-KARLSON A.-K., CROSS J., BICHAO H., FOUNTAIN M., LIBLIKASE, I, SIGSGAARD, L. (2014). Combining 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, the major flower volatile of wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, with the aggregation pheromone of the strawberry blossom weevil Anthonomus rubi improves attraction. Crop Protection 64, WISHART J., GEORGE T.S., LAWRIE L.K., WHITE P.J., RAMSAY G., JONES H. & GREGORY P.J. (2014). Field phenotyping of potato to assess root and shoot characteristics associated with drought tolerance. Plant and Soil DOI: /s XU X.-M., JAY C.N., FOUNTAIN M.T., LINKA J. & FITZGERALD J.D. (2014). Development and validation of a model forecasting the phenology of European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis) in the UK. Agricultural and Forestry Entomology 16: XU X.-M., MADDEN L.V. & EDWARDS S.G. (2014). Relating HT2 and T2 toxin accumulation in field oat grains to environmental conditions. Phytopathology 104: XU X.-M. & MADDEN L.V. (2014). The limits of the binary power law describing spatial variability for incidence data. Plant Pathology 63: , /ppa XU X.-M., RUNGJINDAMAI N. & JEFFRIES P. (2014). A novel strategy to reduce overwintering inoculum of Monilinia laxa. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 140: Conference proceedings: BASSIL N., GILMORE B., HUMMER K., WEBER C., DOSSETT M., AGUNGA R., RHODES E., MOCKLER T., SCHEERENS J.C., FILICHKIN S., LEWERS K., PETERSON M., FINN C.E., GRAHAM J., LEE J., FERNÁNDEZ-FERNÁNDEZ F., FERNANDEZ G., YUN S.J., & PERKINS-VEAZIE P. (2014). Genetic and developing genomic resources in black raspberry. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1048:19 24 FOUNTAIN M.T. (2014). Pollinators of UK perennial fruit crops. Pollinator in Agriculture. Association of Applied Biologists conference, Brussels (1 3 April 2014) JOHNSON A.W., DAVIES M.J., GRANT O.M. & SIMPSON D.W. (2014). Developing strawberry cultivars with improved water use efficiency. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049: published online JOHNSON A. W. & SIMPSON D.W. (2014). The effect of deficit irrigation on the flowering behaviour of two day neutral and one everbearing strawberry cultivar. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049: SHOKAEVA D.B., ZUBOV A.A., SIMPSON D.W. & SOKOLOV, Y.P. Strawberry fruit size inheritance as dependent on achene number and flesh mass per achene. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049: SIMPSON D.W. (2014). Strawberry breeding and genetics research in North West Europe. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049: SIMPSON D.W., WHITEHOUSE A.B., JOHNSON A.W., MCLEARY K.M. & PASSEY A.J. (2014). Elegance and Vibrant, two new strawberry cultivars for programmed cropping in Northern Europe. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049: WHITEHOUSE A.B., JOHNSON A. W., PASSEY A.J., MCLEARY K.J. & SIMPSON D.W. (2014). Recent progress in breeding for improved performance in programmed cropping systems. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049: published online WHITEHOUSE A.B., JOHNSON A. W., PASSEY A.J., MCLEARY K.J. & SIMPSON D.W. (2014). Serenity : A paler skin-coloured somaclonal variant of the short day cultivar Florence. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049:

54 50 XU X.-M. & BERRIE A.M. (2014). Use of a disease forecasting system to manage strawberry grey mould. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 1049, Books and book chapters: Climate Change Impact and Adaptation in Agricultural Systems (2014). Eds J. FUHRER & P.J. GREGORY. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 285 pp BRENNAN R.M., CALIGARI P.D.S., CLARK J.R., FINN C.E., HANCOCK J.F., JARRET D., LOBOS G., OLIVEIRA P., RAFFLE S. & SIMPSON D. (2014). Berry Fruits. In: Horticulture Plants for People and Places, Volume 1. Eds G. Dixon & D. Aldous. Springer Science. DOI / _9 Other publications: FOUNTAIN M.T. & SAVILLE R. (2014). Pear Crop Walkers Guide. Horticultural Development Company NOBLE R. & DOBROVIN-PENNINGTON A. (2014). Mushrooms: Clean-up against mould. HDC News 202, pp XU X.-M. (2014). Use of AMF to improve strawberry production in coir bags. Jardins du Littoral, 132, (December 2014) XU X.-M., BERRIE A.M. & SAVILLE R. (2014). Protecting the fungicides that protect your crop. HDC News 204, pp SAVILLE R., XU X.-M. & BERRIE A.M. (2014). Strawberry Diseases. In: Diseases of Temperate Horticultural Plants. Eds R. George & T. Fox, pp CABI Publishing XU X.-M. & X-P HU (2014). Distance-based statistics for analysing spatial point pattern data. In: Exercises in Plant Disease Epidemiology. Eds K. Stevenson & M. Jeger. APS, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, pp 59 65

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56 52 emr: accounts INCOME 2013/14 TOTAL: 5,707,000 EXPENDITURE 2013/14 TOTAL: 6,064,000 BALANCE SHEET 31 March 2014

57 emr: staff list CHIEF EXECUTIVE Professor Peter Gregory BSc PhD Hon. Dr (Debrecen) CBiol FSB FRASE FCIHort 1,2 Personal Assistant: Angela Chapple COMPANY SECRETARY AND HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES Ian Hardie BSc ACIS Administration: Sue Sadler Senior HR Officer: Maddie Neikter HR Assistant: Claire Simmons FINANCE DIRECTOR Johanna White FCCA Management and Financial Accountant: Donna Bevan ACMA Management Accountant: April Steward FCCA Assistant Management and Financial Accountant: Karyn Hood ACCA Project Accountant: David Beazleigh BA (Hons) ACMA Payroll Officer: Violeta Braunovic Finance Officer: Sally Reeves Finance Office Administrator: Yasmin Muttiah HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Ross Newham BTEC ND Communications Manager: Ursula Twomey BSc PhD IT Manager: Kevin Jacques Conrad McGlinn HTEC STATISTICS Philip Brain BSc MSc PhD Science Programmes: GENETICS AND CROP IMPROVEMENT Programme Leader: Professor Xiangming Xu BSc PhD FSB 3,4,5 Andrew Armitage BSc MRes PhD María Cárcamo de la Concepción Calum Bridson MBiolSci Helen Bates BSc PhD PGCE Helen Cockerton BSc PhD Felicidad Fernández Fernández BSc NSch Antonio Gomez Cortecero Richard Harrison BSc PhD Abi Johnson BSc Laura Lewis BA (Oxon) MSc PhD Bo Li MSc PhD Judit Linka BSc MSc César Marina Montes Marzena Lipska MSc Charlotte Nellist BSc MSc PhD Kirsty McLeary BSc Andy Passey BSc Louisa Robinson-Boyer BSc MSc PhD David Simpson BSc PhD Robert Vickerstaff BA MSc DPhil Adam Whitehouse BSc Fiona Wilson BSc PEST AND PATHOGEN ECOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE CROP MANAGEMENT Programme Leader: Professor Jerry Cross MA FRES MBPR (Hort) DPhil 6 Angela Berrie BSc PhD MBRPHort David Buss BSc PhD Jean Fitzgerald BSc PhD Michelle Fountain BSc PhD MBPRHort Adrian BSc MSc DIC MBPRHort Chantelle Jay BA (Oxon) MSc PhD FRES Jennifer Kingsnorth BSc Karen Lower Thomas Passey BSc Bethan Shaw BSc Joyce Robinson Robert Saville BSc PhD Charles Whitfield BSc MSc

58 54 RESOURCE EFFICIENCY FOR CROP PRODUCTION Programme Leader: Mark Else BSc PhD Nuria Barber-Perez Julie Bennett BSc MSc Gerard Bishop BSc PhD PGCHE Kerry Burton BSc MSc PhD Abi Dalton Mike Davies BSc MSc Edward Dobbs BSc PhD Andreja Dobrovin-Pennington Paul Dracott MA (Cantab) MSc Nicola Harrison BSc PhD Clare Hopson Julien Lecourt BSc MSc PhD Helen Longbottom BSc Veronica Martinez Angulo MSc Professor Ralph Noble BSc PhD7 Emma Skipper BSc MSc PhD Eleftheria Stavridou BSc MSc PhD June Taylor BTEC Emma Tilston BSc PhD FLS MSB MI Soil Sci Karen Thurston BSc Carol Wagstaff BSc PhD* EAST MALLING SERVICES LTD Managing Director: Roger Carline MBA, BSc, DPhil, CEng, MIOD Project Coordinator: Antje Kunert MSc PhD PhD STUDENTS Solomon Agyare BSc MSc Laima Antanaviciute BSc MPhil Andrew Barclay BSc MSc Emma Cascant-Lopez BSc Laura Cordero BSc MSc Greg Deakin** BSc Wei Feng BSc MSc Dylan Hodgkiss BSc MSc Michelle Hulin BSc Benjamin Langendorf BSc MSc Antonio Llorente García BSc MSc Amy Lowe BSc MSc Rachel McDonald BSc MSc Nathan Medd BSc MSc Megan McKerchar BSc MSc Callum Martin BSc MSc Thomas Passey BSc Benjamin Pennington BSc Louisa Robinson-Boyer** BSc MSc Visiting Workers Paula Alonso Espinosa Spain (12 months) Carlos Angulo Iruzubieta Spain (9 months) Jack Barton UK (2 months) María Bernat Martínez Spain (3 months) Tomas Bilcius Lithuania (7 months) Madeleine Cannon UK (6 months) María Cárcamo de la Concepción Spain (9 months) Rebeca Carro Machín Spain (7 months) Emma Cascant López Spain (9 months) Rebeca Conde Ruiz Spain (12 months) Álvaro Delgado Delgado Spain (3 months) Dr Jing Dong China (12 months) María Díez Alonso Spain (9 months) Victor Fournier France (4 months) Agnes Geiger Hungary (6 months) Antonio Gómez Cortecero Spain (9 months) Klara Hajdu Hungary (7 months) Katie Hopson UK (5 months) Eduardo Jimenez López Spain (6 months) Jerome Kelleher BSc PhD UK (2 weeks) César Marina Montes Spain (7 months) Zeus Mateos Fierro Spain (6 months) Justine Perrin France (4 weeks) Sophie Rolfe UK (11 months) Jozsef Serfoso Hungary (3 months) Florian Stein Germany (4 months) Katrin Stotzka Germany (6 months)

59 GLASS, FIELD AND SCIENCE SUPPORT SERVICES Head: Graham Caspell HND Agriculture Horticultural Manager (Science): Gary Saunders BSc MPhil DIC MBPR (Hort) Glasshouse Manager: Emma Easton BTEC Administration: Helen Glover 55 Michael Bartholomew Gloria Endredi MSc David Jeffrey Guy Johnson David Keeler William Leaney Wieslaw Majsik Maksims Osipovs Roger Payne Sylvia Rogers Harry Stevens BTEC ND 1 Professor of Global Food Security, University of Reading 2 Honorary Research Fellow, Rothamsted Research 3 Honorary Professor, University of Kent 4 Honorary Professor, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, China 5 Honorary Professor, Qingdao Agricultural University, China 6 Honorary Professor, University of Greenwich 7 Visiting Professor, University of Greenwich, Honorary Professor, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China commenced post in 2014 left during the year to 31 December 2014 * on secondment from University of Reading (one day per week at EMR) **PhD completed in 2014

60 A selection of Neofabraea sp. isolates collected as part of the 2014/15 apple rot survey

61 emr: research projects 2014 emr project lead given in brackets 57 Projects funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Technology Strategy Board (TSB), Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) and other government sources BBSRC Developing innovative tools to manage risks associated with improving resource efficiency and fruit quality in substrate soft fruit (M.A. Else) Exploiting next-generation sequencing technologies to understand pathogenicity and resistance in Fusarium oxysporum (Horticulture and Potatoes Initiative [HaPI]) (R.J. Harrison) Fruit quality and health (M.A. Else) Improving disease resistance in strawberry (IDRIS) (R.J. Harrison) Maximising mycoprotein substrate utilisation and efficiency (R.J. Harrison) Non-invasive photonic sensors for detection of latent fungal infections and internal rot or disorders in fruit (X.-M. Xu) The National Rhizolab (N. Harrison) Strawberry genetics (R.J. Harrison) Tree disease (R.J. Harrison) Use of AMF and PGPR in soil-less strawberry production to increase resource use efficiency and fruit quality (X.-M. Xu) CRD Development of zero and minimal herbicide regimes for controlling weeds on hard surfaces and determining their emissions (M.T. Fountain) Factors affecting the development of pesticide resistance in codling moth (R.J. Harrison) Semiochemical control of raspberry cane midge (J.V. Cross) Defra Management of apple scab (X.-M. Xu)

62 58 Managing Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) in the UK: determining its distribution and seasonal population dynamics (J.V. Cross, M.T. Fountain) Overwintering of Spotted Wing Drosophilia (M.T. Fountain) Soft fruit multipest (J.V. Cross) SIP project (P.J. Gregory) Projects funded by the European Union GENOMITE: New generation sustainable tools for control of emerging mite pests under climate change (FACCE JPI ERANET + Climate Change) (J.V. Cross) Mush TV: Solutions for the mushroom industry to emerging disease threats from Trichoderma and virus (K.S. Burton) Regional Development Fund (Environment, nature, water resources and risk prevention ERDF) WATERR (M.A. Else) Vegedurable 2: Sustainable vegetable production (J.D. Fitzgerald) Fera Chalara dieback of ash (Chalara fraxinea) (R. Noble) Innovate UK (consortia with matched funding from industry partners) Bioactive predator refuge to reduce waste in apple and pear production and processing (J.V. Cross) Biological, semiochemical and selective chemical management methods for pesticide-resistant western flower thrips on protected strawberry (J.V. Cross) Developing biocontrol methods and their integration in sustainable pest and disease management (IPDM) in blackcurrant production (J.V. Cross) Developing LIDAR to predict and optimise post-harvest fruit quality (J.V. Cross) (E. Stavridou) Developing robustness to biotic stress (R.J. Harrison) Developing a vision system to enhance phenotyping in apples (Pomevision) (M.A. Else) Development of molecular markers for resistance to strawberry powdery mildew markers (D.W. Simpson) Hand-held imaging fluorometer for measuring and optimising spray deposits (J.V. Cross)

63 New biofumigation-based approaches to sustainable control of soil-borne pathogens (X.-M. Xu) 59 Post-harvest management of plums and cherries to minimise waste (A.M. Berrie) Precision irrigation of mushroom (R. Noble) Sustainable crop and environment protection (SCEPTRE) targeted research for edibles (A.M. Berrie) Projects funded by the Levy Bodies Horticultural Development Company (HDC): Blueberry: progressive die-back symptoms in blueberry identification and control (A.M. Berrie) Blueberry gall midge: sex pheromone monitoring and control with insecticides (J.V. Cross) Control of apple canker (A.M. Berrie) Control of potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphoria) in spring on strawberry (M.T. Fountain) Control of spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) on protected cherry using the predatory mite Amblyseius andersoni (M.T. Fountain) Deriving irrigation set points to improve water use efficiency, fruit quality and sustainability of irrigated high-intensity apple and sweet cherry orchards (M.A. Else) Developing alternatives to peat in casing materials for mushroom production (R. Noble) Developing a monitoring trap for detecting pepper weevil in the UK (M.T. Fountain) Development of a sex pheromone monitoring trap for gooseberry sawfly (M.T. Fountain) East Malling Rootstock Club (F. Fernández Fernández) East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club/IDRIS (A.B. Whitehouse) Efficacy of insecticides timed using the blackberry leaf midge sex pheromone trap, to control the pest on raspberry (M.T. Fountain)

64 60 Evaluation and development of new rootstocks for apples, pears, cherries and plums (G.M. Saunders) Evaluation and development of new rootstocks for apples, pears, cherries and plums new work on new plantings (G.M. Saunders) Feasibility of developing a semiochemical based monitoring trap for the apple fruit rhynchites (J.V. Cross) Further development of earwig-safe spray programmes for apple and pear orchards (M.T. Fountain) Generation of genomic resources for apple rootstocks (N. Harrison) Hoverflies in apple orchards (C.N. Jay) Improving codling moth spray timing (J.V. Cross) Improving the consistency of fruit quality in substrate-grown June-bearer strawberry varieties under precision production systems (M.A. Else) Integrated management of apple scab through exploiting host genetic resources (X.-M. Xu) Mushroom nutrition (K.S. Burton) Nitrogen efficiency in high density apple orchards (E. Stavridou) Optimising tarsonemid control on strawberry using predatory mites (C.N. Jay) Predators on western flower thrips (C.N. Jay) Produce Quality Centre Extended marketing period of Gala apples (G. Bishop) Resources for future breeding of apple utilising genome-wide selection (R.J. Harrison) Semiochemical control of raspberry cane midge (J.V. Cross) Sensitivity of apple powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) populations to triazole, QoI and SDHI fungicides (X.-M. Xu) Soft fruit phytoseid mites (D. Buss) Strawberry blossom weevil model (J.D. Fitzgerald)

65 To identify pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest management practices capable of reducing losses of pumpkins during storage (G. Bishop) 61 Understanding and developing methods for managing Spotted Wing Drosophilia (SWD) in the UK: vital research to maintain the viability of the UK fruit industry (M.T. Fountain) Horticultural Fellowship: Succession planning to sustain the UK s expertise in field and laboratory plant pathology research and development (A.M. Berrie) Projects funded from other sources Berry Gardens Growers Ltd: New biofumigation-based approaches to sustainable control of soil-borne pathogens (X.-M. Xu) CPM Ltd: Development of new strawberry cultivars for tabletop production (A. Johnson) East Malling Cherry Breeding Group (industry consortium): Development of improved cherry cultivars (F. Fernández Fernández) Environment Agency: WATERR (European Union project, with matched funding) (M.A. Else) Lubera AG: Raspberry breeding programme (F. Fernández Fernández) National Association of Cider Makers: Resistance of new cider apple cultivars to arthropod pests (J.D. Fitzgerald) Resistance of new cider apple cultivars to plant pathogens (A.M. Berrie) Natural Resources Institute: Extending the marketing period of Gala apples (G. Bishop) Storage life of Braeburn apples (G. Bishop) Reducing waste in cabbage and swede (G. Bishop) Dormancy and sprouting in potatoes and onions (G. Bishop) Produce quality broccoli (G. Bishop) Sainsburys: Improving the quality and yield of UK pears by optimising pollination (M.T. Fountain)

66 62 Strawberry Breeding Club (industry consortium): Development of improved strawberry cultivars for the UK and Northern Europe (A.B. Whitehouse) The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers: Effect of root architecture on feeding by vine weevil (J.D. Fitzgerald) Nitrogen losses through leaching (E. Stavridou) In addition to the above funding, the East Malling Trust has made substantial and greatly appreciated provision towards salaries. Research at EMR has also benefited from grants for overseas travel from the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers and the Glasshouse Crops Research Institute (GCRI) Trust. All this assistance is acknowledged with gratitude. There are, in addition, numerous individual industry-funded projects under confidential contract with East Malling Services Ltd.

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68 64 emr: postgraduate research projects Candidate Project title University of Supervisors Funding Registration body Solomon Agyare Epidemiology of strawberry rot caused by Mucor and Rhizopus spp. Cranfield University X.-M. Xu, (N. Magan) Berry Gardens Growers Ltd Laima Antanaviciute Next generation phenotyping of strawberries University of Reading R.J. Harrison, (N. Battey) AHDB Andrew Barclay Improving control of Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) University of Reading M.T. Fountain, (P. Hadley) Berry Gardens Growers Ltd Emma Cascant Lopez Investigating the molecular clock of Verticiullium dahliae and its influence on pathogenicity University of Reading R.J. Harrison (L. Johnson) East Malling Research, University of Reading Laura Cordero Evolutionary pathways to insensitivity of apple scab to the ergosterol biosyntheis inhibitor fungicides University of Reading X.-M. Xu, (M. Shaw) East Malling Research, University of Reading Gregory Deakin Understanding the biology of Mushroom Virus X by molecular characterisation, location and translocation of RNA and their role in disease epidemiology University of Reading K.S. Burton, (H. Grogan, I.M. Jones) Teagasc (Irish Agricultural and Food Development Authority) Wei Feng Rhizosphere microbiota in relation to wilt development Northwest A&F University, China X.-M. Xu, (X.-P. Hu) Chinese Scholar Council Felicidad Fernández Fernández The genetics of resistance to Amphorophora idaei Borner in the European red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) University of Reading G. Bishop (J. Dunwell) East Malling Trust Dylan Hodgkiss Multi-trophic ecosystem services of hoverflies resulting from Integrated Pest Management Royal Holloway, University of London M.T. Fountain (M. Brown) East Malling Research, Royal Holloway University of London Michelle Hulin Host jump genetics University of Reading R.J. Harrison, (R. Jackson) East Malling Research, University of Reading

69 65 Candidate Project title University of Supervisors Funding Registration body Megan McKercher Enhancing pollination and pest regulation services in apple orchards by supplementing floral resources University of Worcester M.T. Fountain, (S. Potts, D. Westbury) Fruition, Waitrose Ltd Benjamin Langendorf Pre-colonisation of strawberry runners and module plants with AMF to manage Verticillium wilt in strawberry University of York X.-M. Xu, (A. Hodge, P. Young) AHDB Antonio Llorente García Mapping genetic and environmental regulation of phytonutrients and quality traits in strawberry University of Reading M.A. Else (C. Wagstaff, N. Battey) East Malling Research, University of Reading Amy Lowe Early detection of stress in strawberry plants using novel image analysis techniques University of Nottingham N. Harrison, (A. French) HDC, University of Nottingham Rachel McDonald To develop a strategy to enhance biodiversity in or around orchards to increase biocontrol of pests without reducing yield or quality of fruit University of Reading J.D. Fitzgerald, (S. Mortimer) East Malling Research, University of Reading Callum Martin Multi-trophic impacts on the supply of a key ecosystem service: economic and ecological impacts of parasites on pollination Royal Holloway, University of London M.T. Fountain (M. Brown) BBSRC, CASE Thomas Passey Population genetics and management of apple scab University of Reading X.-M. Xu (M. Shaw) Defra Benjamin Pennington Imaging, analysis and modelling of root growth University of Dundee P.J. Gregory, N. Harrison (G. Bengough) East Malling Research, University of Dundee Louisa Robinson- Boyer Population biology and interactions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their benefits in strawberry cultivation University of Kent X.-M. Xu (P. Jeffries) East Malling Trust

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71 A228 emr: location London Jnct 4 New Road East Malling New Road Ditton M20 Jnct 5 A20 Larkfield Aylesford Bradbourne House Ditton King & Queen West Malling East Malling Maidstone West Malling BR East Malling BR East Malling Research, Kent, is located approximately 35 miles south east of central London and 45 miles from Dover. By road From M20: Leave the motorway at Junction 4 A228, turning south towards West Malling and Tonbridge. On the roundabout, follow signs for Tonbridge/West Malling (A228). At the traffic lights, take the left-hand lane signposted Maidstone/West Malling (A20). Turn immediately right at the traffic lights onto the A20 east-bound signposted Maidstone, Larkfield, Ditton and East Malling. At the second set of lights (by the Larkfield Priory Hotel and B&Q) turn right, signposted New Road, East Malling. East Malling Research is signposted to the left at the edge of the village, just before the King & Queen public house. From Maidstone: Leave Maidstone town centre on the A20 London Road and follow it for about 5 miles. After Ditton and Larkfield turn left at the traffic lights signposted East Malling, opposite the Larkfield Priory Hotel; thereafter follow directions as above. From Tonbridge: Follow A26 towards Maidstone, then turn left on the A228 towards West Malling and Rochester. Follow the road for about 3 miles, then at the first set of lights, turn right for the A20, again towards Maidstone. At the next set of lights, turn right signposted Maidstone, Larkfield, Ditton and East Malling. Thereafter follow directions as from M20 above. Once inside the gates, please follow the signs to the Visitors Car Park and Reception. The car park is located to the rear of the Conference Centre. On arrival, all visitors please report to Reception, located in the Conference Centre. Please note that the speed limit on site is 20 mph. By train East Malling station is on the main London to Maidstone/Ashford International line, with trains leaving London Victoria and Maidstone at hourly intervals. The journey from London takes approximately one hour. From the station, walk down the hill to the crossroads. Turn right and take the footpath past the church which leads into EMR s grounds. Once on the site, follow the road to the main building complex and straight on to EMR s reception desk located in the Conference Centre. The walk from the station takes approximately 15 minutes.

72 New Road, East Malling, Kent ME19 6BJ T. +44 (0) F. +44 (0) Registered Charity Company registration