Champion OSR Together

ADAS, Entomology Consultant
Frances Pickering is an entomologist who has worked at ADAS for 7 years and based at Boxworth in Cambridgeshire. Before moving to the entomology team two years ago, she worked as an ecotoxicologist determining the effect of pesticides on non-target insects.The main aims of her work is to reduce the impact of pests on yield and promote integrated pest management. Her recent work has involved novel research into cabbage stem flea beetle control and resistance management in aphids.

ADAS, Entomologist
Sacha is a BASIS-qualified entomologist and joined ADAS in 2013 after completing a doctorate investigating novel pest and disease control in protected crops at the Warwick Crop Centre (University of Warwick). At ADAS he has worked on a range of arable, horticultural and arboreal pests, specialising in the former. Arable work has included pests of oilseed rape, cereals, sugar beet and potatoes. The focus of his work is the development of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes to provide sustainable pest control. This includes developing decision support systems to improve treatment decisions and timing, developing non-chemical control strategies (e.g. trap cropping and pest avoidance), managing insecticide resistance and developing simulation models to improve pest prediction and control.

ADAS Crop Pathology.
Julie is a senior, plant pathology researcher, with over 20 years of experience in applied crop protection projects, working with the key pathogens of major arable crops. She has led many projects investigating the epidemiology and management of foliar, stem, ear/pod and root diseases. Julie has a particular interest in identifying beneficial traits which enable the crop to escape, avoid or tolerate disease and which can be exploited through conventional breeding methods, to improve disease management, through integrating varietal choice with chemical.

ADAS, Entomology
Steve is a senior ADAS research scientist with 32 years of entomological experience with specialist knowledge of pests of arable crops. His research includes projects on rationalisation of pesticide use, re-evaluating pest thresholds, integrated pest management programmes, pest monitoring schemes and the tolerance of crops to pest damage. Steve is manager of Pest Evaluation Services, a laboratory-based service for farmers and growers to determine the infestation of soil and plants by pests and diseases and to advise on the need for control. He is also an editor of ADAS Crop Action.

ADAS, Head of Crop Physiology
Pete is a crop physiologist who has worked at ADAS for 14 years and is based at ADAS High Mowthorpe in North Yorkshire. Prior to working for ADAS, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at Nottingham University, where he also gained his PhD in ‘Predicting Lodging Risk in Wheat’. The main aim of his work is to improve performance and reduce pollution of cropping systems, through an understanding of crop physiology, plant breeding and agronomy. His goal is to produce sound practical advice for the farming industry, which is based on rigorous and high quality research. He has authored 40 peer reviewed research papers. Important areas of his research include; increasing crop yields sustainably, optimising nitrogen nutrition of crops, exploitation of precision farming technologies, OSR agronomy and lodging control & plant growth regulation.

ADAS, Plant Pathology
Caroline has worked on a range of arable and vegetable crops, with a particular emphasis on integrated control strategies for foliar and soil-borne diseases. Her research focus includes disease monitoring and forecasting, and strategies to reduce the development of fungicide resistance. Caroline has worked in crop research and consultancy for over 20 years and is the author of many scientific papers, conference papers, technical reports and press articles.

ADAS, Weed Biology
Sarah is involved in all aspects of arable crop production, especially sustainable agriculture, integrated farming and impacts of arable farming on the environment. She specialises in weed control and management, integrated crop production, arable crop agronomy, sunflowers and grass weed seed dormancy. She has been actively involved in agricultural research and consultancy for 30 years and is the author of many scientific papers, conference papers, technical reports and press articles.

ADAS, Plant Pathology
Faye joined ADAS as a plant pathologist in 2007 after completing a PhD on potato plant pathology at the Scottish Agricultural College in Auchincruive. She has worked on a range of arable crops including cereals and oilseed rape as well as potatoes, including foliar and soil-borne diseases. Recent research includes improving the control of plant pathogens through integrating disease control strategies and fungicide resistance management.

ADAS, Arable Plant Pathology
Philip has worked has worked in crop research and consultancy for 10 years on a range of arable crops, with a particular emphasis on control strategies and protected trials for foliar diseases on oilseed rape. This includes the efficacy testing of foliar fungicides and seed treatments to ORETO standards for project registration as well as management of specific trials relating to larger projects including fungicide performance trials. Philip has extensive experience in implementing large complex field trials and a specialism in artificial inoculation glasshouse studies on oilseed rape disease light leaf spot.

Wright Resolutions, Cultivation
Philip Wright was trained in Agricultural Engineering at Silsoe College, Bedford, gaining an Honours Degree in 1979. He became registered as a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council in 1990, and is a Member of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the British Society of Soil Science. Philip was Technical Director of Simba International (now Great Plains), the UK leading manufacturer of cultivations machinery, having been employed there since 1979. Philip formed Wright Resolutions Limited in 2007 to provide cost effective, environmentally friendly solutions for the agricultural industry.

BASF, Chemical Advice
Clare has spent sixteen years working in the field with agronomists providing them with technical support and running local trials, first with Cyanamid Agriculture, then with BASF. For the last three years, Clare has been a Business Development Manager at BASF specializing more in oilseed rape. Clare liaises with UK research organizations and independent influencers to develop practical advice for growers on how to maximize their crop profitability.

BASF, Agronony Manager
Andrew has a background of on farm agronomy in both Australia where he worked as an Agricultural Consultant in Central West NSW and the in UK as an agronomist for a family run agronomy & seeds business in the South West. Andrew joined BASF in 2015 as agronomy manager in Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey & Sussex and has recently taken on the role of the Business Develop Manager for OSR Seeds looking after the Invigor range of OSR. Andrew continues to be the agronomy manager in his area.