It was great to see so many people turn up to Breeders Day at John Innes Centre Dorethea de Winton Centre yesterday. Simon Griffiths here giving an introduction to Watkins 788, the wheat now showing promising signs of having a slug-resistant trait both in lab and field trials. We were standing in the plots of the Watkins RILs (×with Paragon) that will be harvested & distributed for field trials this autumn. Line 64 looks even more promising than the Watkins. Great conversations with scientists about future tech developments, including OSR showing promising signs of resistance to slugs & cabbage stem flea beetle. This is something we need to get into the field. There's a real thirst for farmers to get involved & help shape this fundamental science.
