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John is pictured on the cover of the new BBSRC HAPI information booklet and the new project he leads 'Exploiting next generation sequencing technologies to understand pathogenicity and resistance in Fusarium oxysporum' is featured.

Rachel Warmington, a second year PhD student at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Crop Centre, has been awarded a Marsh Horticultural Science Award for 2013.

The Marsh Horticultural Science Award, run in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society, recognises the work of and encourages new postgraduate scientists to develop careers in horticultural science. Rachel was awarded for her research project on Sclerotinia disease which affects a variety of vegetable crops.

The disease derives from the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and can damage a variety of major crops such as oilseed rape, lettuce, carrots, beans, peas and occasionally potatoes. Rachel’s project focuses on identifying potential new soil treatments required to control Sclerotinia disease and on furthering investigation into the diversity, causes and patterns of the disease in the UK

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A charity based in two universities will use expert knowledge of plants to tackle the global issue of food security. Crop-Innovations, based at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Crop Centre and the University of Bath’s department of biology and biochemistry, “brings cutting-edge plant research to farmers in order to help increase the value of under-utilised crops”. The charity’s operations manager, Heather Sanders, said: “Using indigenous crop species that are able to grow in different climates or on marginal land creates more robust yields and will help farming communities better cope with climate change.”