The big picture: using wildflower strips for pest control
They may be beautiful, but these strips prove pretty deadly for every farmer's mortal enemy: aphids
News
PICTURE YOURSELF DOING AN ENVIRONMENTAL PHD?
Snap up one of three Rothamsted studentships funded through NERC’s Envision programme
The projects cover topics including ecosystem services, crop pests and climate change, and will variously provide modelling, laboratory and field work experience in both the UK and Africa.
Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Lancaster University is leading the Envision Doctoral Training Programme, which brings together the Universities of Nottingham and Bangor, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the British Geological Survey and Rothamsted Research.
Follow the links below to learn more about each one and how to apply.
Project Title: Landscape diversity underpins sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
We love big data. And with some of the world’s longest running experiments, you could even say, we were built by statistics.
Here’s one for you:
By 2050, 2 1/2 billion people will live in Africa.
How does the continent feed itself whilst protecting its environments from the ravages of industrialised agriculture? How can vital natural services, like pollination, be protected in the face of such pressures?
This modelling PhD will utilise satellite data and cutting edge techniques to understand the link between crop types, ecosystem services and food security across Africa. Working alongside experts from Kenya, Nigeria and the UK, the distribution maps you create will help determine the right crops for the right place at the right time for both people and planet.
Project Title: Complementary strategies for the sustainable management of an invasive pest in Africa
Africa is under siege. The target: its food supply. In less than two years, more than 30 countries have been occupied by an insatiable new invader, the fall armyworm. A fight back that minimises collateral damage requires insect control using environmentally-safe biological pesticides and resistant/tolerant crops.
The project aims to identify suitable biopesticides, crop species & maize strains, and establish whether these crops and control methods can work together.
The project will achieve these goals by using a combination of approaches, including biopesticide bioassays, phenotyping, behavioural assays, chemical ecology approaches and field trials in Kenya.
The student will be expected to spend significant amounts of time at both Lancaster University and Rothamsted Research, as well as several weeks in Kenya.
Project Title: Reducing Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions ‘RAGGE’
Modern farming would struggle without nitrogen inputs – and we should know, because our research led to the world’s first commercial fertilizer.
But you can have too much of a good thing. Excess nitrogen can pollute rivers or be released as nitrous oxide. Here in the UK, soil accounts for about half of all emissions of this harmful greenhouse gas.
This project aims to understand which environmental drivers are involved in greenhouse gas emissions and identify strategies for their reduction.
You’ll be using state of the art real-time detection systems (monitoring N2O, NH3, CH4, CO2 and O2 emissions) along with advanced molecular and sequencing methods for detecting, expression profiling, and sequencing genes involved in nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emission.
Contacts
Prof. Jonathan Storkey
Plant Ecologist
Ian Clark
Molecular Microbiologist - Bioinformatician
ABOUT ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH
Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud history of ground-breaking
discoveries in areas as diverse as crop management, statistical interpretation and soil health. Our founders, in 1843, were the pioneers of modern
agriculture, and we are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative approach to developing innovative farm practice.
Through independent research, we make significant contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and internationally, with
economic impact estimated to exceed £3 bn in annual contribution to the UK economy. Our strength lies in our systems approach, which combines strategic research,
interdisciplinary teams and multiple partnerships.
Rothamsted is home to three unique National Bioscience Research Infrastructures which are open to researchers from all over the world:
The Long-Term Experiments,
Rothamsted Insect Survey and the
North Wyke Farm Platform.
We are strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and
international funding streams, and from industry. We are also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT).
ABOUT BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid
from the UK government.
BBSRC invests to push back the frontiers of biology and deliver a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future. Through our investments, we build and support a vibrant,
dynamic and inclusive community which delivers ground-breaking discoveries and develops bio-based solutions that contribute to tackling global challenges,
such as sustainable food production, climate change, and healthy ageing.
As part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), we not only play a pivotal role in fostering connections that enable the UK’s world-class research and innovation system
to flourish – we also have a responsibility to enable the creation of a research culture that is diverse, resilient, and engaged.
BBSRC proudly forges interdisciplinary collaborations where excellent bioscience has a fundamental role. We pioneer approaches that enhance the equality, diversity,
and inclusion of talent by investing in people, infrastructure, technologies, and partnerships on a global scale.
ABOUT LAT
The Lawes Agricultural Trust, established in 1889 by Sir John Bennet Lawes, supports Rothamsted Research’s national and international agricultural science through the provision of land, facilities and funding. LAT, a charitable trust, owns the estates at Harpenden and Broom's Barn, including many of the buildings used by Rothamsted Research. LAT provides an annual research grant to the Director, accommodation for nearly 200 people, and support for fellowships for young scientists from developing countries. LAT also makes capital grants to help modernise facilities at Rothamsted, or invests in new buildings.