RESEARCH IN SCOTLAND THE SCOTTISH AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE (SAC) AN OVERVIEW Several regional agricultural colleges at Aberdeen Ayr Auchincruive and Edinburgh were founded in Scotland during the period 1899-1904. These colleges were merged to form a single institution SAC in 1990. George Marshall Head of the Plant amp; Crop Science Division gives an overview of crop protection activities at SAC SAC is a knowledge transfer organisation for the rural sector. It has evolved a distinctive philosophy that provides knowledge transfer to a wide range of end users within a single institutional framework through formal education training and advice and consultancy. All of these activities have their foundation in a programme of strategic and applied research of direct relevance to SACrsquo;s stakeholder communities.In crop protection research SAC delivers programmes of work via a range of business Divisions including Plant amp; Crop Science Environment and Management. Research is supported by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) together with a very wide range of funding bodies including DEFRA HGCA HDC DFID together with a range of UK and International agri-businesses. research at SAC is primarily field based but accompanied by the associated glasshouse and laboratory studies. Crop protection research at SAC Historically SAC has had strength in depth in the disciplines that comprise crop protection. Plant pathology remains the dominant discipline but agricultural zoology and weed biology and control are also important.The research component of Crop Protection is primarily applied in nature aiming to solve the agricultural and horticultural problems in Scotland. However the applied research is underpinned by a strategic base of research. It is SACrsquo;s intention to carry out research that complements the more fundamental research at the Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institutes (SABRIs). In consequence there is increasing emphasis placed on collaboration with Institutes like SCRI. The range of crops in Scotland is more limited than in England but the geography and long cool days invoke a different set of pest weed and disease issues. Cereals potatoes and oilseed rape are the major arable crops and their crop protection problems attract most attention.There are some pest and disease problems which are more prevalent in northern climes. Examples are light leaf spot of brassicas (Pyrenopeziza brassicae) and snow rot (Typhula incarnata) of winter barley. One of the strengths of crop protection research in SAC is the potential for integrating disciplines and tackling a problem lsquo;from plough to platersquo; if necessary. Thus many research projects will involve agronomists physiologists engineers and food specialists as well as laboratory and field based crop protection staff. Overall crop protection Pesticide Outlook ndash; April 2002 This journal is copy; The Royal Society of Chemistry 2002 Systems research Integrated research on whole systems is one of SACrsquo;s hallmarks.Major research projects are being carried out in organic and conventional crop production systems examining the potential for economic crop production with minimal environmental degradation. Research on conventional systems is based around a long-term rotational experiment being carried out at 5 sites across Scotland. Intensive monitoring of the sites for pests weeds and diseases is carried out in conjunction with sampling for bird invertebrate and small mammal activities and measurements of soil water quality and contamination. The management regimes presently under comparison at the sites are based on extensive surveys of real farmer practice. By the end of the rotational experiment it will be possible to combine the measured effects of different management regimes on the local environment with information on the relative numbers of different types of farmers obtained from the survey to produce projections of environmental impacts of farming at a regional and national scale.The value of this work is further enhanced by the results of psychological and socio-economic profiling of the farmers who took part in the original survey. Through this participative research approach it has been possible to examine some of the underlying reasons for general management approaches taken by different farmers. Interesting correlations were detected between farmersrsquo; attitudes to gathering information and the extent to which they set profit maximisation as a goal and their tendency to use pesticides prophylactically.In organic production systems SAC has a long-standing interest in research aimed at improving nutrient use efficiency and the development of a whole-farm nutrient budget model is a major focus of research. SAC has one of the oldest organic rotational experiments in Europe. This longevity is an important feature of the programme because many of the complex soil processes that determine the success of organic production take a long time to reach equilibrium. Improvement of crop protection methods for organic crops is also an important focus for research in this system. Currently SAC is active in developing improved disease control methods for organic vegetables particularly potato and in an EU-funded project in assessing the competitive abilities of different winter wheats as a component of weed control systems for organic production.58 DOI 10.1039/b203214g A rotational experiment being carried out by SAC. The systems research programme is a focus for mathematical modelling in the SAC research portfolio. In addition to systems-scale bio-economic simulation models the programme also uses modelling to address specific research questions. For example within the organic programme new research will use weed population dynamics models as a technology-transfer tool to help farmers converting from conventional production methods to assess the long-term efficacy of different weed control strategies. This project highlights the close interplay between end-users in this case farmers and relatively advanced scientific methods modelling that is a strong feature of SACrsquo;s research programme.SAC is involved in a long-term programme of research SAC Association of Potato Producers group meeting. investigating the environmental impact associated with the introduction of GM (genetically modified) spring oilseed rape into the Scottish agri-ecosystem. The study incorporates a total of 18 three-year rotations that include three types of oilseed rape a conventional variety; a GM variety high in lauric acid (a quality trait); and a GM variety tolerant to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium (Liberty.). Many of the rotations incorporate breaks of either spring barley or fallow in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the associated herbicides at controlling volunteers.The field plots (400 m2) enable a good assessment of the dynamic changes of both flora and fauna taking place over the course of the rotations to be made. In addition the experiments are designed to allow estimates of the levels of gene stacking due to crosspollination between the three oilseed rape varieties to be made. Data derived from this experiment is being used to test the predictive properties of computer models evaluating different management strategies that could be used if GM oilseed rape was to be grown commercially in Scotland. An associated trial is investigating the risk of oil modified oilseed rape (e.g. GM lauric acid or conventionally bred varieties) to produce volunteer problems via altered seed RESEARCH IN SCOTLAND longevity.Thus this suite of experiments will provide valuable information regarding the field behaviour of GM oilseed rape in a rotational context. Pathogenesis and disease control Plant-microbe interactions SAC has a long tradition of research in plantmicrobe interactions. The overall aim of the work is to determine the basis of interactions between plants and microorganisms at genetical physiological biochemical and epidemiological levels. Work in this area proceeds along three fronts pathogenesis; biology epidemiology and disease control; and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. A major focus of research on pathogenesis at present is Brassica-pathogen interactions.Oxylipin profiles in interactions between oilseed rape (OSR) and foliar pathogens especially downy mildew are being studied. As part of this programme the expression of 9-lipoxygenase is being altered with the aim of modifying oxylipin profile. The aim of this work is to determine whether altered oxylipin profile has an effect on the interactions between OSR and foliar pathogens. In parallel work is looking at gene expression in interactions between OSR and foliar pathogens while the interactions between calabrese and the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas fluorescens are under investigation; in particular the fitness and pathogenicity in this interaction and the role that biosurfactants play in the establishment of P. fluorescens.Research on host-pathogen interactions in SAC also includes work on resistance responses of barley to powdery mildew infection especially the involvement of polyamines in the hypersensitive response and work on inducible responses of plants to pest or pathogen attack. We are particularly interested in how induction of say pest resistance affects the expression of pathogen resistance and in the trade-off between the induction of defence and plant growth and yield. 59 Pesticide Outlook ndash; April 2002 RESEARCH IN SCOTLAND Research on plant-microbe interactions in SAC also encompasses work on the interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). SAC researchers are currently engaged in comparing the plant response at a molecular level to infection by AMF and by pathogenic organisms.They are also busy studying the expression of functional genes during the pre-symbiotic and symbiotic stages of growth of the AMF. Epidemiology and disease control Major programmes of research on pathogens of arable crops are seeking to find solutions to real-life problems. Many of these programmes are joint with institutes around the UK and Europe. In cereals interest in foliar and stem base disease control using fungicides represents a major area of activity. Research in this area is important to support our consultancy role and brings us into close contact with agrochemical manufacturers. One particular complex/pathogen on barley in northern Britain that has attracted significant funding has been leaf spotting/Ramularia collo-cygni.Potato pathology research is another strength covering all the major fungal and bacterial pathogens of seed and ware crops. These include potato blight Powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea) blackleg (Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica) black dot (Collototrichum coccoides) and Rhizoctonia solani. Novel approaches to disease control for example incorporating brassicas to biofumigate soil and engineering solutions to disease control make SACiexcl;¯s contribution to supporting the potato industry unique. Other areas of epidemiology and disease control research activity are in oilseed rape and horticultural crops. Linkages SAC has provided consultancy advice to all sectors of the agricultural community in Scotland since the original Colleges were founded.In the last few decades increasingly specialist advice has been required as agricultural businesses have themselves specialised. One example of the new focussed approach to consultancy is the merger to form SAC Scottish Agronomy. This is the leading dedicated SCOTTISH AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AGENCY (SASA) SASA is an agency of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD). It was formed in April 1992 from the former Agricultural Scientific Services of the Department to iexcl;ntilde;iexcl;ntilde;iexcl;ntilde; provide government with expert advice on agricultural crops horticultural crops and aspects of the environment perform statutory and regulatory work in relation to national European Community (EC) and other international legislation and agreements on plant health bee health variety registration crop improvement genetic resources the protection of crops food and the environment conduct research and development in support of its statutory work With the increased independence associated with Agency status SASA located at East Craigs near Edinburgh with a staff of 130 also services the needs of the agricultural industry more directly.For more information about SASA and its work see the website http://www.sasa.gov.uk from where a review of its recent research 1997¨C2000 can be downloaded. Pesticide Outlook ¨C April 2002 60 consultancy service in Scotland for arable crops and benefits from contact with the extensive Crop Protection Ramp;D in SAC.Backing the consultancy is the laboratory diagnostic and analytical services. SAC has Crop Clinics to diagnose problems in the laboratory and a full suite of analytical services. A feature of the Crop Clinic is the provision of advice along with the diagnosis. Routine testing for a range of pests and pathogens (such as potato cyst nematode) also forms part of the Crop Cliniciexcl;¯s remit. Development of diagnostic techniques into practical reality is important to sustain this supporting laboratory role. Partly for public information but also consultancy reasons SAC carries out monitoring for pests weeds and diseases in all major crops in Scotland. The network of general advisers and collaborating trade representatives undertake this monitoring in a systematic way. The resulting intelligence forms the backbone of the SAC Crop Protection Report which is produced on a regular basis and widely read. The research required to answer the crop protection problems in Scotland has become more focussed and technically challenging. What makes SAC unique however is the potential for a seamless link between research and consultancy. In other words research findings are rapidly disseminated. Educating future farmers and others in rural business also helps as they leave SAC with an understanding of the Ramp;D and consultancy capability of the organisation and frequently come back for advice. Training in crop protection (e.g. BASIS) naturally follows from the strong interaction of Ramp;D and consultancy. The joined-up iexcl;reg;Scottish Systemiexcl;¯ combining education/training Ramp;D and consultancy is a unique and much envied approach to agriculture that is exemplified in SACiexcl;¯s Crop Protection activities. For more information on SAC see http://www.sac.ac.uk/ or contact Dr M.L. Smith Research Manager SAC Central Office Edinburgh EH9 3JG UK. email M.L.Smith@ed.sac
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