Application of innovative plant breeding and phenotyping technologies to reduce the nutrient requirement of forages and improve livestock production efficiency

A major challenge facing the UK livestock centre is the need to fulfill the increasing demand for meat

and milk products whilst reducing the environmental impact of production. This project will apply

innovative plant genetics and breeding approaches to the development of improved varieties of

perennial ryegrass and white clover with increased nutrient use efficiency (NUE) delivery environmental

and economic benefits to primary producers and wider society. It will also deliver commercial return to

the seed company germional Holdings Ltd., who will market the improved varieties. The project will use

the National Plant Phenotyping Centre in Aberystwyth as a bridge between studies in flowing solution

culture and in the field and to develop high throuput technologies for the effective screening of new

plant varieties with improved NUE in the glasshouse and in the field.