Rothamsted Research

Countryfile - Sugar Beet Harvest Charlotte Smith and Vick Hope are in the east of England following the journey of Britain’s sugar beet, 100 years after the first production of home-grown sugar.

In case you missed it - Rothamsted's Steve McGrath on #BBCCountryfile last night showing off our historic sludge samples to Tom Heap

Starts 27:41 👀👇
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002shxq/countryfile-sugar-beet-harvest

Countryfile The people, places and stories making news in the British countryside.

Don't miss Rothamsted on BBC Countryfile tonight at 6pm!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b006t0bv/countryfile
#BBCCountryfile

Happy International Women's Day! Today we celebrate all the women at Rothamsted who drive innovation and sustainability in agriculture. Their work continues to inspire and shape the future #IWD2026 #WomenInSTEM

Not long now until the next WGIN meeting! Good news - there are 4 CPD #BASIS Points allocated for this meeting.

Register now: www.rothamsted.ac.uk/event/23rd-w...

Leaders of UK institutions pioneering research into nutrition urge the Government to sustain investment in their work.
 
Malnutrition drives instability, migration, & conflict.
 
Solutions to it deliver benefits here & abroad.
 
#BritishScienceWeek @theguardian.com 
https://bit.ly/4rgLKCO

Congrats to Vasthi who received a Pioneering UK-US Breakthroughs Award👏
New device enables faster, cheaper detection of early-stage crop viral infections in cassava, allowing diseases to be identified and contained before they spread
Full story👇
www.ukri.org/news/from-fa...

We are looking forward to participating in #BritishScienceWeek in Parliament next week - a showcase of British science expertise on nutrition and food security.

ANH Academy Science-Policy Platform United Against Malnutrition & Hunger John Innes Centre University of Reading University of Exeter

1 week to go until the annual Wheat Genetic Improvement Network (WGIN) meeting on March 11th, open to anyone working with wheat- join us at John Innes Centre or online👇
https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/event/23rd-wheat-genetic-improvement-network-wgin-stakeholders-meeting
#wheat #farming #agriculture

New modelling shows land-managers key to slow spread of the emerald ash borer if it reaches Britain
https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/new-modelling-shows-land-manager-actions-could-slow-spread-emerald-ash-borer-if-it-reaches
Forest Research University of Warwick Stockholm Environment Institute

Farmers and agronomists - discover the power of beetles on your farm with our scientists! On this free one day course (11th March) you'll learn how to monitor and ID carabid beetles, and enjoy tours of our research farm!
Register now 👇
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/rothamstedresearch2/2065335

Congratulations to our prize winners:
Best Placement Student Poster: Natasha Mead
Best 1st Year Poster: Sabina Schneider
Best 2nd Year Poster + Presentation: Genevieve Kiero Watson
Best 3rd Year Poster + Presentation: Jade Smith
Best Final Year Talk: Peggy Mcgroary

A big thank you to everyone who helped deliver the Rothamsted PhD Student Symposium 2026 this week 🎓
Students showcased their work, ideas, and the research questions they’re tackling across the institute through talks, poster sessions, and panel discussions.

See you next year!👋

Hay fever hits early as tree pollen levels ‘very high’ Hay fever season has begun early following a spell of warm weather.

🌳Hayfever on the way! Great to see comments from Prof. Jon West in the Telegraph about tree pollen levels:
uk.news.yahoo.com/hay-fever-hi...

Up next: invited speaker Prof. Johnathan Napier
Trials and tribulations - Lessons learnt from running GM field trials at Rothamsted
His Camelina Omega-3 Fish Oils project is highlighted as a globally recognised example of what plant biotechnology can achieve!

Up next: Tash Brock — can gene editing help improve the nutritional quality of wheat? 🌾

Using CRISPR/Cas9 to develop high-lysine wheat — with potential benefits for human nutrition and improved animal feed.
South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP) University of Bristol

Up next: Mukilan Suresh bringing “bugs + bytes” together 🧠🪲
Using deep learning and eDNA/metabarcoding to improve insect ID from sticky traps — helping build tools and benchmark datasets for automated biomonitoring and stronger understanding of ecological networks.
Newcastle University

While most plant genetics focuses on chromosomal DNA, a new review from Rothamsted and Clemson Uni highlights that eccDNA (small DNA circles that replicate independently in the nucleus) has a previously under‑appreciated layer of genome plasticity.
www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/new-rev...

Up next: invited speaker Alex Dye 🎤
In today’s talk, he’ll reflect on his transition from Rothamsted Insect Survey to FarmED - and what it's like to support farming and research through public engagement and knowledge exchange.

Up next: Nathan Roberts 🎓
Can genetics help boost yield by increasing seed size and seed number in Brassicaceae crops?
A Genetic Approach to Increasing Seed Size and Seed Number within the Brassicaceae
The University of Bath South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP)

Kicking off day 2 of the PhD Symposium is Rosie Clear-Hill - sharing lessons from PhD fieldwork in Tanzania and what climate change could mean for tree reproduction 🌳
Bangor University University of Nottingham UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated at day 1 of the PhD Symposium!

Roll on day 2….

#phd #agtech #Agriculture #agriscience

Now a “Things I Should Know” panel session organised by Dana Macgregor plantenv.bsky.social - a practical, honest conversation covering topics like imposter syndrome, resilience, communicating science, and skills for research careers in and beyond academia!

#phd #researchculture

Up next at the PhD Symposium: Anusha Mohan-Kumar — can we use plant scents to outsmart a hidden pest below ground? 🪱
🎓 Semiochemical-Based Alternative Concepts for the Management of Wireworms
University of Bristol UWE Bristol South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP)

Great talk from Fareed Bhatti at the PhD Symposium: Understanding True Eyespot Disease of Cereals. What can historic cereal archives reveal about eyespot—and emerging fungicide resistance?
University of Nottingham

Open to anyone working with wheat, join us at the next Wheat Genetic Improvement Network (WGIN) meeting on March 11th at the John Innes Centre and online
Register: https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/event/23rd-wheat-genetic-improvement-network-wgin-stakeholders-meeting
#wheat #arable #farming #agriculture

Donna Fellowes has been organising our PhD Symposium for 15 (!) years - here's why 👇👂

Enjoying the Rothamsted PhD Symposium today - so many exciting posters and projects from single genes to tiny insects to wide agricultural landscapes @rothamsted.bsky.social #cropscience #phdlife

Up next in the final year PhD talks: Peggy Mcgroary 🎓
Herbicide-resistant weeds + new tools for gene function work in Lolium.
Expanding Virus-Mediated Reverse Genetic Techniques to Lolium spp. Using BSMV Vectors
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @plymuni.bsky.social

PhD Symposium up next: Rye Hickman 🎓@rye-hickman.bsky.social
Rye’s research explores the social, economic and political barriers that can slow the shift towards less ecologically destructive agricultural systems, with a focus on sustainable food systems and agriculture.
@nrinstitute.bsky.social

Rothamsted PhD Symposium is officially underway! 🎓
Across the next two days, we’ll be hearing from PhD students sharing their work, ideas, and the research questions they’re tackling across the institute.
It’s a great chance to celebrate students, learn, collaborate 🥼