Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
August 28, 2009
Scientists from all over the world are heading to Dundee next week for a top-level meeting linked to one of the key issues of our time – food security.
They are all specialists in biometrics, the science and technology of measuring and analyzing biological data.
The meeting is being held by the 'Biometrics in Plant Breeding' section of a scientific organisation called Eucarpia and is being hosted by Scotland’s own leading centre for crop research – the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI), based at Invergowrie.
Most of the conference sessions from Wednesday to Friday will take place at Dundee’s Apex City Quay Hotel. Just over 100 delegates will be attending.
Eucarpia member Dr Bill Thomas, whose work at SCRI focuses on barley and other cereals, says understanding the genetic make-up of crops is essential.
“We need to be able to analyse and understand how genetic factors can interact with themselves and the environment to affect the yield and quality of crops. It’s becoming more and more important as the global climate changes, and we try to breed crops that can cope with less water, higher temperatures and possibly new pests and diseases.”
Maintaining healthy crops and fighting diseases is likely to be vital for the potato industry which is worth £4 billion in consumer terms and £700 million at the farm gate annually. Soft fruit crops could be vulnerable too and the value of the raspberry crop in Scotland alone is put at about £12 million annually. Increasingly very advanced genetic technology is being put to work to help conventional, time-tested crop breeding programmes.
SCRI’s Director, Professor Peter Gregory, said: “Our research delivers new varieties of potatoes and soft fruit and novel breeding technologies for barley.
“Turning world-class science into products for the marketplace has resulted in SCRI Group returning to Scotland more than £30 per head of population each year via its commercial products to say nothing of the environmental benefits resulting from lower use of pesticides for disease and pathogen control.
“Scotland has become a world-leader in agricultural sciences and we are delighted to have the privilege of welcoming the Eucarpia members to Dundee – one city many discoveries!”
The Eucarpia conference in Dundee runs from Wednesday 2 September until Friday 4 September.
http://www.scri.ac.uk/events/forthcomingevents/eucarpia2009
SCRI is partly funded by the Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate of the Scottish Government. It is one of five Main Research Providers that undertake research on the Scottish Government programmes of research in the areas of environment, agriculture and biology. See also: http://www.knowledgescotland.org
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