Neonicotinoid emergency use application approved
The NFU has secured the emergency use of neonicotinoid seed treatments providing much needed protection from the pest cabbage stem flea beetle for five per cent of the oilseed rape crop in England amounting to around 30,000ha. The products which farmers will be able to have access to are Modesto (Bayer) and Cruiser OSR (Syngenta). […]
New £3m grass seed mixing plant opens in Scotland
Grass breeding company DLF-Trifolium opened a new, state-of-the-art, mixing and distribution centre just outside Edinburgh last week. At £3million, this is the largest investment in grass mixtures ever seen in the UK. The new 4,000m2 site will produce all the forage grass mixtures the company sells, and has the capacity to supply up to half of […]
Seeds keep vital much longer when stored without oxygen
If seed breeding companies, gene banks and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen should store plant seeds under oxygen-poor conditions, it would be possible to store them for much longer while still maintaining their germination capacity. This is indicated by research carried out by seed physiologists from Wageningen UR and seed experts from the […]
Arable farmers let down by EU seeds decision
The European Parliament’s decision to reject proposed Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) legislation represents a backwards step and is a missed opportunity to help increase the resilience of UK arable farms in the face of climate change and to improve their ability to compete internationally, the NFU said today. MEPs today failed to support NFU calls […]
Certis extends arable portfolio
Certis has signed an agreement with Chemtura AgroSolutions, appointing Certis UK to exclusively handle the marketing and distribution of their full seed treatment range. The agreement has been concluded in advance of the spring seed treatment timing, with the products covered under the agreement comprising of Anchor®, Rancona® 15ME, Rancona® I-Mix, Signal® 300ES and Thiraflo®. […]
Germains Seed Technology becomes first UK participant in European Seed Treatment Assurance scheme (ESTA)
Germains Seed Technology, based in Kings Lynn, West Norfolk was formally ESTA accredited in December by the certification body, KIWA PAI. Paul Mullan, Managing Director and CEO at Germains said: “We are thrilled to be the first in the UK to achieve this accreditation. As one of the world’s leading seed technology providers we are […]
AIC welcomes review of seed regulations, but fights to retain UK needs
Speaking at the AIC Annual Seed Trade Dinner, Paul Taylor who chairs the Seed Sector said a full review was long overdue and the Confederation had collaborated willingly in the EU Better Regulation consultation for seeds. The UK input reflected a strong consensus between the commercial seed industry and plant breeders, and farming unions, as […]
Plant breeders highlight key role of biodiversity
The UK is host to a number of internationally significant seed bank collections, whose combined resources include many thousands of wild species, landraces and obsolete cultivars dating back many decades, as well as more recent ‘conservation’ types and modern elite varieties. Britain’s leading seed bank collections include the Commonwealth Potato Collection at the James Hutton […]
