ENDURE’s Scottish partner, the James Hutton Institute (JHI), is heading up the country’s new Centre of Expertise in Plant Health, which is taking a coordinated cross-sector approach to pest monitoring and will also seek to help stakeholders improve their own plant health capabilities.
Reporting on the launch of the online centre, JHI says that in addition to the existing pests and diseases that currently affect plants in Scotland, there are more than 900 others which could pose a threat to arable crops, trees, horticulture and wild plants.
The virtual Centre will be focusing on the potential threats which pose the greatest risk in Scotland, taking into account the country’s climate and the plants most important to its “economy and social wellbeing”. In terms of agriculture, for example, cereals (particularly barley and to a lesser extent wheat) and potatoes are of great importance, while strawberries are one of the key protected crops.
JHI reports: “...the Centre’s activities will include a focus on understanding possible routes of entry into Scotland, the ability to spread to and infect our major plant species under our climatic conditions, as well as the best methods for control and when to implement them. In addition, the Centre will work closely with stakeholders to understand and act on their priorities and concerns to protect Scotland into the future.”
The centre is being funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) and brings together a number of Scottish research organisations working with the recently appointed Chief Plant Health Officer for Scotland, Professor Gerry Saddler from Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA). Besides JHI, these institutes include “sector leads from Scotland’s Rural College (agriculture), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (horticulture and environment) and Forest Research (forestry), together with partners from the universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Strathclyde, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS), each bringing with them a range of skills from understanding public perceptions to long-term disease forecasting.”
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Last update: 24/05/2023 - ENDURE © 2009 - Contact ENDURE - Disclaimer