Crops research group

The crops group comprises nine academic staff, seven research fellows and an excellent network of associated staff at Reading and elsewhere. Our work includes study of the physiology and management of soft fruit and more generally of tree crops, the integration of crops and trees within urban environments, breeding of tropical crops and associated aspects of tissue culture and genetic manipulation, and the population biology of crop protection. We work closely with colleagues in Earth Systems Science, Food Science, and the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. 

We manage the  International Cocoa Quarantine facility, and are responsible for scientific management of the UK National Fruit Collection near Faversham in Kent. We have excellent links to agricultural and horticultural businesses and research institutes in the UK and overseas, notably East Malling Research in Kent UK, Rothamstead Research in Hertfordshire UK, the Natural Resources Institute of Greenwich University and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana. Major funders include DEFRA, the Cocoa Research Alliance, the industry alliance underpinning the Soft Fruit Technology Group , the Royal Horticultural Society, and Research Councils.

Our facilities include a large area of experimental polythene-clad tunnels allowing replicated experiments on tunnel materials and growing systems; superb CE facilities for factorial experiments in plant-environment interactions; a large area of modern heated/cooled glasshouses; and extensive experimental grounds. All this is backed by access to modern and well-equipped laboratories and the wider facilities of the University, including the Biocentre.

Staff

Academic Staff		Research Interests
Professor Michael Shaw		Head of Crops Research Ecological modelling, plant diseases, dispersal of pathogens, fungicide resistance
Professor Nick Battey		Floral Development, Soft Fruit Technology
Professor Jim Dunwell		Plant biotechnology, Cupin superfamily of proteins, Gene expression in plants, Transgenic plants
Dr Bob Froud-Williams		Weed Biology
Professor Paul Hadley		Cocoa and Apple identification and collection management, cocoa crop production, soft fruit technology
Dr Paul Hatcher		Biological Control, insect conservation, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, IPM, weeds, Rumex, grasslands
Professor David Midmore		Agroforestry, Agronomy, Horticultural Production
Dr Glynn Percival		Arboriculture, Enterprise
Research Fellows		Research Interests
Dr Tijana Blanusa		Gardens and microclimate. Urban vegetation and mitigation of effects of climate change. Physiological responses of ornamental plants to water deficits. Establishment of ornamental plants.
Dr Nicholas Cryer		Genotypic analysis of plant diversity
Dr Andrew Daymond		Environmental physiology of cocoa, co-ordinator of the International Cocoa Quarantine Centre
Dr Matthew Ordidge		Scientific Curator for the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale
		Molecular Physiology of Cocoa
Dr Chris Turnbull		Web design and database development (Online and CD-ROM), image analysis
Dr Andy Wetten		Plant genetic transformation, Plant cryopreservation, Somaclonal variation