Plenty of new research to see on the HGCA stand

The Home Grown Cereals Authority will have a range of demonstrations and new information on its stand at this year’s Cereals event. Here is a selection of some of the things to look out for:

• Integrated management of herbicide resistance plot demonstration. The impact of herbicide resistance on weed control (blackgrass, ryegrass) and strategies on-farm
• Insect pest and natural predator handbook – the HGCA is planning this identification handbook for pests and their predators, which will incorporate information on how pest management strategies can make use of these natural enemies. This will be a marquee display run alongside a quiz to indentify insects
• Fusarium mycotoxin risk assessment – the updated risk assessment form and topic sheet to accompany it
• Oatlink project and market development ‘All about oats’ campaign. A number of plots will be looking at both Recommended List varieties and some of the results of the project. The Oatlink project aims to incorporate important traits underlying sustainable development of the oat crop through combining conventional phenotypic selection with molecular market technologies. Market development campaign – to provide independent information about nutritional value of oats to increase consumption.
• Ergot – a project finishes this year and messages will be communicated at Cereals. The aim of the project was to develop an integrated package of measures aimed at reducing risk of ergot infection in wheat crops whilst retaining the environmental benefits of grass margins
• Differential thermostat project – all the results will be available
• Biofuels: following the introduction of the RTFO, HGCA will examine the implications for farmers, industry and consumers. Key features include: Farmer section – greenhouse gas calculator, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Industry section – RTFO what it is and what it means, map of proposed plants, biorefinery chart – products from wheat. Consumer section – messages from biofuels day, consumer research results
• Cereals Interactive Map – updated map to help growers identify their local market opportunities will be demonstrated on the stand
• Supply Chain Partnership – five themes will all be reviewed