BRITISH BEET RESEARCH ORGANISATION

STRATEGY FOR R&D AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 2008 TO 2013  

SECTION 2       CURRENT RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS

The BBRO maintains a continuous review of all its programmes to ensure that it addresses anticipated shorter and longer-term economic and environmental issues. Currently, the balance between its technology transfer programme, its strategic and its shorter-term projects needs to reflect the competition from sugar produced outside the UK . Competition for the small amount of available funds remains fierce and new work must be targeted on key research areas. Table 1 lists the expenditure committed in each research area for the immediate future. It is not indicative of any future distribution of funds between research areas.

Table 1. Breakdown of expenditure on Sugar Beet Research and Technology Transfer

In Table 1 the 2009/10 column represents expenditure on projects continuing from 2008/09 and does not include costs of new projects to begin after April 2009; such projects have yet to be selected. Each project has been ascribed to a research category according to the project’s primary purpose e.g. a project using molecular technologies in the development of a particular physiological trait would be ascribed to Crop Physiology, that being the primary purpose of the work.

Work costing £255k is scheduled to end in March 2009. This includes research on the management of aphids that carry yellows viruses and their resistance to insecticides, together with small projects on database construction, growers’ benchmarking, seed rates for the new régime, one of the projects encouraging biodiversity, and work to support revision of the RB209 fertiliser recommendations. Under current financial restrictions following loss of quota, it is unlikely that this volume of work can be replaced in full. Wherever possible, we would seek to attract additional funding through LINK or similar schemes and to encourage contractors to use the BBRO programme to lever additional funding from industry, research councils and other sources. This has been effective in the past, particularly with regard to BBSRC competitive mode funding in basic science. The BBRO will maintain its aim to move the emphasis of its programme towards reduction in the unit cost and improvement in the yield of the sugar beet crop although it is still recognised that due regard must be paid to the impact of beet production and processing on the environment including wildlife. Proposers of new projects concerned with the improvement of sugar beet genotypes should have obtained an assured interest and financial contribution from seed houses or breeders. This is consistent with BBRO’s continuing policy for all new proposals to demonstrate an awareness of R&D elsewhere and to identify the deliverables and an agreed route through knowledge transfer to implementation. These and other requirements outlined above should be borne in mind by authors of proposals for new projects to begin in April 2009.

Proposals will be considered for new work on:

• optimising virus yellows control by monitoring population dynamics, infectivity and insecticide-resistance of aphid vectors of sugar beet virus diseases.
• a desk study of the implications of closer rotations for the management of sugar beet crops in Eastern England .
• innovative techniques to improve significantly the yield and cost-effectiveness of UK sugar beet production either through trials or desk studies.

Proposals addressing these priorities for research should be submitted in the form of concept notes not exceeding two sides of A4 paper. They should indicate a clear route to exploitation within a well-defined time frame, and include realistic estimates of costs and benefits. Costs should not be inflated for later years. All collaborators should be specified. Concept notes concerned with the improvement of sugar beet genotypes should demonstrate a clear financial contribution from the seed/breeding industry.  Authors, before drafting concept notes, may find it helpful to avoid duplication of past research by reviewing briefly the list of past projects funded by the BBRO.  To view the list Click Here. Concept notes should be sent by email to jean@bbro.co.uk, with a hard copy to:

Mrs Jean Maskell, BBRO, The Research Station, Great North Road , Thornhaugh, Peterborough , PE8 6HJ .

The deadline for both electronic and hard copies is 12 noon on Friday, 16^th May 2008.