…institute – best it can with funds

30 January 1998

…institute – best it can with funds

CURRENT variety testing does the best job possible with limited resources, says Adrian Pickett, head of combinable crop trials at NIAB. "We do the best we can given the funds available. The distribution of trials is looked at very carefully to give the best balanced results."

Evaluating varieties under a range of conditions ensures potential weaknesses are exposed, such as winter hardiness, vulnerable Hagbergs, sterility and any tendency to sprout. Husbandry reflects current practice, he adds.

Reducing the number of trials for less popular crops, so more can be done in wheat, could make results for lesser crops statistically invalid, he adds.

"Growers of those crops still need reliable results."