Resilient Crops: Grains for Health (Oats)
Lead Research Organisation:
Aberystwyth University
Department Name: IBERS
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Technical Summary
Oats: UK oats are enjoying a strong resurgence with their production area doubling in the last 20 years. New varieties are needed to meet increased demand for healthy foods and to maintain critical crop diversity. For producers improvements in quality and resilience are at least as important as yield. We will elucidate genotype by environment interactions for key yield and quality traits to accelerate genetic gain. Our integrated research will provide understanding on how environmentally sensitive developmental traits affect grain yield and quality. We will deliver novel resilient oat resources critical to ensuring future crop supply and quality.
Planned Impact
unavailable
Organisations
- Aberystwyth University (Lead Research Organisation)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA (Collaboration)
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF READING (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM (Collaboration)
- INDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (Collaboration)
- Linking Environment And Farming (Collaboration)
- QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST (Collaboration)
- Agricultural University of Iceland (Collaboration)
Publications
Biernaskie, J.M.
(2025)
Uncovering the genetic basis of competitiveness and the potential for cooperation in plant groups
in Proc. R. Soc. B .
C Truluck
(2024)
Intertidal encounters: The oat and the oyster
in Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts Quarterly Review
Ellis N
(2023)
Recombinant inbred lines derived from wide crosses in Pisum.
in Scientific reports
Gangashetty PI
(2023)
Genotype-by-environment interactions for starch, mineral, and agronomic traits in pearl millet hybrids evaluated across five locations in West Africa.
in Frontiers in plant science
Gutierrez N
(2024)
Genome-wide association study for yield-related traits in faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
in Frontiers in Plant Science
Hofmann LC
(2024)
The green seaweed Ulva: tomorrow's "wheat of the sea" in foods, feeds, nutrition, and biomaterials.
in Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
| Title | Out of Time |
| Description | The 'Closing Ritual' of the Dear Earth exhibition at the Hayward Gallery began with Out of Time, a culinary performance by Cherry Truluck. Taking place under the Super Blue Moon, Out Of Time is a glimpse into Truluck's long-term artistic research praxis (The Animist Almanac) exploring oat cultivation and fugitive temporalities. This transdisciplinary work explores the possibilities of food and farming as an artistic practice, focusing particularly on temporal rhythms in agricultural systems. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Further collaborations |
| Title | When Seeds Speak: A Seedy Ensemble |
| Description | When Seeds Speak: A Seedy Ensemble will premiere at Chapter Arts Centre in September 2024. A visual artist, musician, dancer, musical improviser and composer will respond and interact with a raw unprocessed dataset generated by the metabolomic fingerprint analysis of a Black Oat seed (Cierch du Bach) as well as conversation, interviews and pre- recorded audio from the lifecycle of the grain - sowing, harvesting, threshing, fermenting, cooking, and eating. An emergent, experimental and improvised performance will evolve from a complex and unique synthesis and generative audio work, revealing the performance-making process and a visual and sonic discovery. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | New collaborations made |
| Description | BBSRC review panel |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/sustainable-aquaculture-partnerships-for-innovation/ |
| Description | New plant variety on national List |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Expands genetic diversity of spring oat varieties in the UK and enhances environmental sustainability through reduction in use of fungicides |
| Description | New variety on National Variety Descriptive List List |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | New options for farmers growing beans and for protein market |
| Description | New variety on National Variety Descriptive List List |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Provides new options for farmers growing nitrogen fixing break crops |
| Description | New variety on National Variety List |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | High yielding new oat variety with excellent grain quality providing new options for farmers |
| Description | New variety on National Variety List |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Husked winter oat, Harris with enhanced yield and grain quality, added to National Variety List |
| Description | new oat variety on National Variety List |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | new high yielding naked oat available to farmers in the UK |
| Description | Better Bread: Enhancing flour quality including the incorporation of legumes |
| Amount | £737,688 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10074325 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 08/2025 |
| Description | Ensembl Plant Populations: integrating trait analyses and population-based sequence variants into a browsable genomic context |
| Amount | £1,250,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/X018725/1 |
| Organisation | National Institute of Agronomy and Botany (NIAB) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2023 |
| End | 09/2026 |
| Description | Exploring Natural Genetic Variations of Flavonoid Biosynthesis in Pearl Millet Germplasm for Functional Food Attributes and Terminal Drought Stress Tolerance. |
| Amount | £312,648 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Global |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| Description | FoodBioSystems DTP PhD studentship. Title "Unpicking the causes of infertility in wheat triggered by temperature stress" |
| Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2878860 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2023 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | Genetics Society Training Grant |
| Amount | £800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Genetics Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 02/2024 |
| Description | Gooding Fund |
| Amount | £650 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Aberystwyth University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2023 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Horizon Europe Guarantee. Legendary: Ecosystem services of incorporating legumes into crop rotations |
| Amount | £4,100,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10089689 |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 03/2029 |
| Description | INNOsea: Innovative seaweed extraction and application |
| Amount | £184,931 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10124260 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 08/2025 |
| Description | Joy Welch |
| Amount | £4,800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Aberystwyth University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2024 |
| End | 07/2025 |
| Description | PeaProtein: Breeding peas for the plant-based protein market |
| Amount | £755,704 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10046667 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | PlastiRootS - Evaluation of complex Root traits towards Plasticity in barley under Salt stress for importing climate resilience and productivity |
| Amount | £200,512 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/Y030435/1 EC - 101105873 |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2024 |
| End | 05/2026 |
| Description | Precision drone platform for NetZero Agriculture and Land Use (SMART Flexible Innovation Support) |
| Amount | £191,628 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Welsh Assembly |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | Summer studentship |
| Amount | £2,900 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2024BPS013 |
| Organisation | British Phycological Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Towards the use of AI for Appraisal and Exploitation of Hand-written Research Data |
| Amount | £9,536 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | URF |
| Organisation | Aberystwyth University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2025 |
| End | 07/2025 |
| Description | UMTaste: Understanding the mechanisms by which umami taste influences salty and bitter taste to enable umami to drive salt reduction and improvement i |
| Amount | £53,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2930801 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 09/2028 |
| Title | Additional file 1 of Non-destructive, high-content analysis of wheat grain traits using X-ray micro computed tomography |
| Description | Additional file 1. MATLAB Image processing pipeline. This file contains all image processing code and instructions explaining input and output as well as usage of our method. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | not yet |
| URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Additional_file_1_of_Non-destructive_high-conte... |
| Title | Additional file 3 of Non-destructive, high-content analysis of wheat grain traits using X-ray micro computed tomography |
| Description | Additional file 3: Table S2. Dataset obtained for the same wheat spike scanned at different resolutions as indicated. No significant difference for p |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | the dataset has been used for subsequent grant capture |
| URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Additional_file_3_of_Non-destructive_high-conte... |
| Title | BRAVO target sequence capture V3 |
| Description | This data set contains the bait sequences for a sequence capture library targeting specific genes in Brassica ssp.. Source sequences have been manually selected and processed with BaitLibraryBuilder (https://github.com/steuernb/BaitLibraryBuilder). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | the dataset has been used for subsequent publications and grant applications |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4473283 |
| Title | Hexaploid oat transcriptomes |
| Description | RNAseq (Illumina) for six Avena byzantina tissues to support annotation of the A. byzantina reference genome. Additional data from two A. sterilis, two A. fatua and seventeen A. sativa accessions has been generated. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Annotation of the A. byzantina genome is of a very high quality (BUSCO completeness of 99.7%) |
| Title | Meiosis in Allopolyploid Arabidopsis suecica |
| Description | Cytological images for Nibau et al, Meiosis in Allopolyploid Arabidopsis suecica, 2022, The Plant Journal. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | too soon |
| URL | https://aberystwyth.elsevierpure.com/en/datasets/107b344b-d0d0-450f-b24f-dcfd2131b640 |
| Description | DTP FoodBiosystems PhD Studentship. 2020-2024 100 years of plant breeding - what have we done to the seed microbiome? |
| Organisation | University of Reading |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Dr Farrar leads the Agricultural Sciences and the BioEconomy theme in IBERS, AU, comprising 27 PIs plus associated staff and students. She has published over 30 papers on plant development, energy crops and plant-microbe interactions. She has successfully supervised six PhD students to completion, with four ongoing (one submitted, awaiting viva); of these, 4 projects have been in collaboration with industrial partners or public bodies. Dr Catherine Howarth is a Reader at AU and leads the Cereals and Pulses Group. Her research focuses on understanding the control of agriculturally important traits and the incorporation of these traits into improved plant varieties. She has experience in managing a number of large multidisciplinary projects including collaborations with industry and has successfully supervised 4 PhD students to completion. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Richard Ellis is Professor of Crop Production, UoR. His research spans agronomy, crop phenology, and anhydrous biology in relation to environment, including climate change impacts. He has expertise in the effect of environment on seed production, on seed storage survival, and on germination for application in the global network of genebanks (ex situ biodiversity conservation for crop plant breeding) and to crop establishment. In anhydrous biology more widely, he has researched fungal spore survival for biological control. He is PI of the National Fruit Collection in Kent, a Director of the World Vegetable Center, and has successfully supervised 43 PhD students to completion. Alexey Mikaberidze is a lecturer in Crop Protection, UoR. His interdisciplinary research combines mathematical and computational modelling with multi-scale experimentation and he is an expert within analysing diverse large-scale datasets. |
| Impact | 'Bacterial endophytic community composition varies by hemp cultivar in commercially sourced seed' accepted for publication in Environmental Microbiology Reports. No DOI yet. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Grain nutritional quality in oats |
| Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration involves co-supervision of a PhD student primarilly based at Abersywtyth University |
| Collaborator Contribution | Direct metabolits analysis of oat grain using iknife |
| Impact | I refereed publication published, conference talk given and further paper in preparation |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Island Oats |
| Organisation | Agricultural University of Iceland |
| Country | Iceland |
| PI Contribution | new collaboration on developing oats for Iceland and understanding the physiology of key traits |
| Collaborator Contribution | Field trials and networking meeting established |
| Impact | Succesful application to NERC Arctic Networking Call |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | LEAF Innovation Centre |
| Organisation | Linking Environment And Farming |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In 2023 IBERS became recognised as a LEAF Innovation Centre. The launch event included academic presentations on grasslands research and tours of facilities and field sites. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As members of the LEAF Network, members of staff including those associated with this project can benefit from networking (eg overview of research taking place at LEAF Innovation centres) and training (eg LEAF Surgery). We anticipate this collaboration to help with dissemination and realisation of impact from research. |
| Impact | Early stage collaboration planning joint activities. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Seedling Emergence |
| Organisation | U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Detailed screening of association mapping population of oats for seedlng emergence under a range of drought stress conditions |
| Collaborator Contribution | GWAS analysis |
| Impact | in progress |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Sprouted cereals |
| Organisation | Indian Council of Agricultural Research |
| Department | ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi |
| Country | India |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have contributed towards metabolite profiling of sprouted cereals and also for mushrooms using our in-house High resolution metabolomics lab towards the development of novel functional foods. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners at IARI has provided access to facilities to study food matrix associations in developing cereal based functional foods |
| Impact | Three manuscripts on preliminary collaborative work is under preparation. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | TUGBOAT-ICEBREAKER |
| Organisation | Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Provide genetic material (both varieties and mapping populations) for cold tolerance screening and genotyping. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Genome analysis and phenotyping |
| Impact | Too early to report |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | mGWAS and AI |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | With the support of travel award of £500 from Monogram network, an initial collaborative meeting was arranged which led to the development of mutual ideas on applying AI to enhance crop breeding. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provided consent to be one of the project partners to support future funding applications. |
| Impact | NA |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Title | New field bean variety, Miro added to PGRO Descriptive List |
| Description | New early maturing, short stature field bean |
| IP Reference | |
| Protection | Patent / Patent application |
| Year Protection Granted | 2024 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Title | New oat variety, Valentine |
| Description | New husked winter oat with enhanced disease resistance on National Variety List |
| IP Reference | |
| Protection | Patent / Patent application |
| Year Protection Granted | 2023 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Description | 25 plant science undergraduates from Edge Hill Uni |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Visit by 25 plant science undergraduates from Edge Hill Uni, led by Dr Svan Batke |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Agricultural College visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Students from an Agricultural Colleage were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Alternative proteins |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Podcast |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://businessnewswales.com/rural-futures-hub-series-alternative-proteins-and-farming-in-the-futur... |
| Description | BBSRC Seeding award dissemination event, AgriTech-E |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and display of the results from BBSRC Seeding Award. Has led to collaboration with new industry partners and a number of grant proposals including one with INnovate UK which has subsequnetly been funded |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | BT Innovation for Wales |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with BT on developing remotely operated drone capability |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Better Bread |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Multiple interviews on BBC local and national radio and television on enhancing white bread through the development of novel flours incorporating legumes and other cereals |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Better Bread Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Flour milling workshop with Felin Ganol, Shipton Mill and Aberystwyth |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Brecon Buffers Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | visitors were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | CEUG workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The UK Controlled Environment Association held its annual meeting in Aberystwyth . Tours were provided for the NPPC and a lecture provided to the meeting |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.ceug.ac.uk/event/2023-uk-ceug-meeting-at-aberystwyth-university/ |
| Description | Cereals 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | PeaGen project poster displayed on PGRO stand at annual Cereals event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Cereals 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Just Oats stand and variety demonstration at Cereals Event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Coordinator of FoodBioSystems DTP visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Visit by FBS DTP on fact-finding tour of participating organisations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Dame Nia Griffiths under Sec for Wales |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Dame Nia Griffiths under Sec for Wales and accompanying were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Defra Soil Policy Team |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Visitors were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Discussion event: From Beans to Bugs : Innovative solutions to removing deforestation linked soy feeds from our food supply |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Dr Fazhana Ismail |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | visitors from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Malaysia, Department of Agricultural Science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://directory.upsi.edu.my/experts/profile/E24CD285C605A08F |
| Description | Dr Kun visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | From the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, on a fact finding mission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | EdgeHill University Plant Science Student Visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | students and accompnaying staff were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Engagement with NFU-Cymru on Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Attended briefing event at NFU-Cymru Head Quarters (Builth) on Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). This is linked to role as academic board advisory group member on net zero for NFU and on wider engagement with farming community on climate change: mitigation and adaptation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.nfu-cymru.org.uk/news-and-information/supply-chain-sfs-concerns-heard-at-nfu-cymru-meeti... |
| Description | Farming Connect event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with Farming Connect at Aberystwyth University including representatives from the farming community on the linking R&D through to agricultural practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Farming Connect regional reps |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Reps from across the UK were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Germinal seed growers Visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Event organised by affiliated industrial organisation, where their farmer/growers were able to visit and discuss the technologies utilised in breeding |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delegation from Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences to discuss next gen phenotyping |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | HZAU, Wuhan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Meeting in Aberystwyth with Chinese collaborators from HZAU to discuss research projects |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Heritage oats |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Article on heritage oats (in French) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.slate.fr/story/242180/pays-de-galles-avoine-noire-ancestrale-graine-futur-cereales-cultu... |
| Description | ITV-wales interview for "Wales This Week" current affairs programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview & filming footage for ITV-wales: 30 minute programme on the use of AI in Wales |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | International group Fuling Li inward investment Welsh Govt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Fact finding mission by Welsh Govt |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interview for BBC Countryfile on oat genetic diversity and alternative protein |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Considerable media attention arose from an episode of BBC CountryFile filmed at Gogerddan that covered Genetic Diversity and alternative protein, including insects as human food. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interview for Welsh TV (FFermio) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 2 TV interviews primarily in Welsh, describing the breeding-related research at Aberystwyth University |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Lafan Cymru AgriFood consultants |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Lafan personel were given a tour of the research facilities and discussions held on the type of research projects undertaken |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | NUE-LEG project visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Visitors were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | New oat varieties |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview on Radio Wales to be broadcast on 15th March 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Oat Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Day of presentations and field visits for growers, stakeholders, postgraduate students and general public leading to enhanced oat growing and grain quality |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Oat Frontiers Stakeholder Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation, discussions and field visit held at Gunnersholt, Iceland with local cereal growers and Oat Frontiers consortium of scientists based in Finland, Norwar, Sweden, Ireland and Iceland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Oat pangenome workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Three day workshop, consisting of a closed meeting for members of the PanOat consortium on day 1, a broader open meeting presenting cereal genomics related topics on day 2 and a networking day on day 3. BBSRC funding supported facilities and hospitality to allow attendance by colleagues from US and Europe as well as a number of UK institutions. In person and virtual presentations described a broad range of public or collaborative resources, from databases and bioinformatics tools to genotyping platforms and genetic resources. Industry, research and infrastructure groups presented and participated in discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Oxford Real Farming Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Workshop held at Oxford Real Farming Conference on the oat supply chain. Impact includes setting up new commercial links with Organic Arable and selected growers for spring oat variety Timpani developed at Aberystwyth University |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Participation in a visit at my institute - March 7th 2024 BBC Climate and Science Team |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt delivered a public lecture at Aberystwyth University, engaging discussions with the audience about public perceptions and efforts to address climate change in the UK and around the world. Following this event, small group of academics and VC met the seven reporters from BBC Climate and Science Team. This offered an informal opportunity to discuss our research, together with the University's wider expertise, with some of Britain's leading journalists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2024/02/title-268668-en.html |
| Description | Participation in a visit at my institute - September 2023 China delegates visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 10 people from Nanjing Agricultural University, Development Centre of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Centre , Huazhong Agricultural University visited IBERS. The visit included talks from the Chinese delegates and researchers from IBERS. Various discussion on phenomics facilities and technology was discussed, leading to possible future collaborative works. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Pilgrim Foods |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Visitors were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Presentation on Oat Genetic Diversity at 2nd Food Oats Conference Lund, Sweden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Initiated new collaborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://foodoatsconference.com/ |
| Description | Prof Hai-Chen Ying et al CAS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | visiting chinese acadmics were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Rank Prize Fund symposium on "Emerging opportunities and challenges for utilising bioactives from oats" Grassmere. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentations from Catherine Howarth, Irene Griffiths, Marc Loosley, Sara Tudor, Jack Davies and Aiswarya (Ash) Girija. Has led to funding appplications and new collaborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Royal College of Defense visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Visit by Royal College of Defense personnel interested in sensors and surveillance |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Royal Society Innovating Agriculture event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participated and chaired an expert panel on ": How can innovations in food and agriculture be deployed at scale?" at the Royal Society Innovating agriculture event. This was part of the conference series "Transforming our future" and explored the science and innovation aiming to transform the future of food and farming. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://royalsociety.org/-/media/about-us/industry/tof-conference-reports/transforming-our-future-in... |
| Description | Royal Welsh Show |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Project flyer displayed on the IBERS stand at the 2023 Royal Welsh Show, 24th - 27th July, Builth Wells. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Scandinavian Phenotyping network visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Erik Alexandersson and several colleagues from Nordic region visited to inspect advanced phenomic facilities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Sept 2023 delegation from China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A group of Chinese Researchers from Nanjing, Wuhan and Shanghai visited for 2 days, gave and listened to seminars |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | UKRI, MEDR, & Welsh Gov |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | visitors were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Visit by BBC science and Climate change group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The BBC science and Climate change group were at IBERS/NPPC on a fact-finding visit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Visit to Forest Research, Rotarua, NZ |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited to a phenotyping workshop that included people from other organisations in NZ and UBC Canada |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Wales Tech week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We hosted a remotely operated drone for BT, which was flown for the event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | primary school visits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 2 local schools, led by an AU computer science lecturer, were given a tour of the research facilities and relevant projects explained and discussed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |