“The Institute is exceptionally well placed to provide evidence about behaviour change, and how such changes may be best encouraged at the population level, in order to help Scotland reach its ambitious emission reduction target” A social scientist of the James Hutton Institute has been appointed to the Scottish Government’s Sustainable Renewal Advisory Group, a collective which has been tasked with identifying opportunities to embed sustainability in Scotland’s recovery from COVID-19. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, James Hutton Institute, Tel: +44 (0)1224
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“The use of light-weight and low-cost spectral sensors for agriculture is particularly exciting as there are so many ways in which land managers could benefit from the kind of data that this sensor generates” Hyperspectral imaging, a growing area in remote sensing, holds the promise of providing a solution for crop monitoring over large areas, and scientists at the James Hutton Institute are working with partners in industry and academia to investigate the potential of the technology to maximise the sustainability and productivity of key food crops, as well as for other purposes including
"We hope the results will give recommendations to decision-makers in the food sector and at policy level on how to respond to changes and make food systems fit for future food-related habits following the current pandemic" How have our eating, cooking and food purchasing habits changed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdown measures in the UK, Europe and much of the world? Researchers at the James Hutton Institute are part of an EU consortium which has launched an international study to answer these questions. Anecdotal evidence and social media suggest that more people are
“This paper represents five years’ work. We are delighted that our discovery can provide real benefits in terms of understanding this important trait” International Barley Hub scientists at the James Hutton Institute, working with colleagues in the UK, Australia and China, have identified a natural variation in a gene that influences sodium content in barley crops, a finding which may help advance the development of barley varieties with improved yield and resilience. Sodium in soil is transported from the root to the shoot of barley plants, and while an excessive level is toxic to most plants
SEFARI experts in plant diversity, human nutrition and soil science have been exploring variation in wild and domesticated food plants relevant to nutrition and health. In the longer term, this research could help to improve the nutritional potential of our crops but in the meantime, you can experiment for yourself by growing wild or unusual seeds. Flavour is key, but despite the adage ‘home-grown tastes better than shop bought’, this is not always the case. Additionally, growing your own produce may not be cheaper than buying from your local supermarket, so there needs to be good reasons to
The Rowett Institute has contributed to a range of educational resources to help with home schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scottish research institutes are sharing educational activities and resources for teachers, parents and learners to use during the coronavirus pandemic. School children can learn how to manage a forest, become diet detectives or try being a farmer. Aimed at those who are home schooling, the free online educational activities and resources have been collated by the six organisations which make up SEFARI (the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes). The resources cover a wide range of topics including the environment, food and agriculture and are suitable from primary
In recognition of the developing COVID-19 situation, Arable Scotland 2020 will move to a virtual format with key activity taking place on the original date of the Thursday 2nd July and a suite of webinars, videos, podcasts, articles, press coverage and resources delivered online to continue to deliver the important messages and content of this key industry event. Hopefully even more people will be able to engage this way and we can collectively use this as a focal point to meet and interact in a virtual way. This year the theme is 'alternative crops' and the four zones are: (1) Novel Crops (2)
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced several measures to ensure that there is a sustained focus across the Scottish Government and the public sector to meet the needs of island communities, now and in future. Data on small rural and island communities is often lacking, which provides challenges for the Scottish Government and Local Authorities to understand the specific challenges facing island communities and form effective policy measures to address them. This project identified key evidence gaps for Scotland’s island communities and to provide recommendations for how these could most
Along with so many other things, Covid-19 scuppered our plans to travel the length and breadth of the UK delivering sheep health road-shows in association with NSA and SRUC. Nevertheless, we were all keen to ensure that these important messages were still delivered so we agreed to embrace modern technology and try online webinars to inform all those interested on the risks posed by these “iceberg” diseases. Infectious conditions that are classed as “iceberg” diseases include Border disease, caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), Johne’s disease and ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA). Despite their