BRITISH BEET RESEARCH ORGANISATION

  STRATEGY FOR R&D AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 2009 TO 2014

  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 grower support (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 2010/11 column represents expenditure on projects continuing from 2009/10 and does not include costs of new projects to begin after April 2010; 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 £801k is scheduled to end in March 2010. This includes the current technology transfer (grower support) programme, molecular research to understand the control of bolting and flowering, and projects to screen varieties for drought tolerance, develop strip tillage for sugar beet, enhance the current on-line herbicide decision support tool by inclusion of a pest and disease programme, and identify effects of changing input/output costs on profitability. Under current financial restrictions following loss of quota, it is unlikely that this volume of work can be replaced in full. A new grower support programme costing no more than the current one is an imperative and existing contractors will be invited to develop it - no other organisations having comparable expertise or net-working capabilities across sugar beet research providers and growers. 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:

• A greater understanding, including molecular control as well as empirical studies in CE, of vernalisation and devernalisation in the evaluation of bolting risk in sugar beet varieties.

• The development of strip tillage to enhance profitability and positive environmental impact of beet production.

• Innovative approaches to pest, disease and weed control.

• Implementation of results of previous drought research in variety evaluation.

• Desk studies on:

-  pesticides at risk from EU regulation in 2011.

- opportunities for collaboration with other countries in northern Europe .

- seed rates and optimal spatial arrangement of plants for maximum yield 

  and profitability.

• 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 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 electronic copies is 5pm on Tuesday, 26^th May 2009, followed by hard copies no later than noon on Wednesday, 27^th May.