plant breeding

Hotter, drier climatic conditions and concerns over emerging pest and disease threats present challenges to potato growers throughout the UK. However, Director of Cygnet PB, Alistair Redpath explains that there is significant investment in breeding that should provide optimism for growers...

Legislation to unlock new technologies that can help to boost food production and support farmers to grow more productive crops will return to Parliament today. The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has welcomed this, especially DEFRA’s statement today suggesting that the bill is “paving...

Responding to the recent ScotGov consultation on a future Agriculture Bill for Scotland, the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has welcomed the document’s explicit focus on the importance of conserving plant genetic resources as the basis for the future resilience and sustainability of...

The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has raised concerns with MPs that, as currently drafted, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill currently before Parliament may fail to unlock the investment and advances in plant breeding innovation needed to address urgent food security...

Sugar beet breeders continue to lead the way in rapidly developing new and improved varieties. Ongoing investment in research and development is bringing new varieties to improve pest and disease resistance whilst also increasing yields. Plant breeders have also demonstrated these varieties can...

The Government has announced new plans to unlock the power of gene editing to help farmers grow more resilient, nutritious, and productive crops. The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) chief executive Samantha Brooke commented on the Defra announcement saying: “This is the most significant...

The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has welcomed today’s publication by the European Commission of a wide-ranging study into the legal status of new precision breeding techniques as an important step towards better regulation of these technologies across Europe. The study concluded...

With hybrid varieties taking an increasing area of the UK crop, growers are reminded of the legal obligations and agronomic and economic risks of farm-saving seed of F1 hybrid varieties. Crops produced from F1 hybrid seed offer growers significant benefits in terms of yield improvement...

The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) is urging members of the House of Lords to support an amendment to the Agriculture Bill which could give Britain’s scientists and breeders access to the latest gene editing techniques and mark a step change in prospects for crop improvement to support...

BSPB is the association for the agricultural plant breeding industry in the UK. We licence and collect royalties on certified seed sales and operate the UK's farm-saved seed collection system for our members. We are a small, friendly team based just outside Ely in Cambridgeshire. We have a...

NIAB's summer open days in this, their centenary year, start tomorrow at Sutton Scotney and continue through the rest of June. The events are open to all with a full listing and registration details at https://www.niab.com/shop/page/open-events. BSPB will be at Sutton Scotney, tomorrow 18...

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE Try a short quiz on aspects of the farm-saved seed rules. BSPB will make a donation to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution for every complete entry received. And every correct entry will be entered into a prize draw to win a Best of British hamper. Enter your...

AgriTrade News reports a NIAB project, funded by the AHDB (PR602), has concluded that higher than expected levels of erucic acid (EA) in oilseed rape seed originated from oilseed rape volunteers. Erucic acid contamination has led to some growers incurring penalties on consignments, or seeing...