A new tool, SeedGerm - based on machine learning-driven image analysis – is able to test seed samples to ensure a certain germination rate is met in a low-cost, high-throughput and semi-automated way.

The product is the result of a collaboration between the Earlham Institute (EI), the John Innes Centre (JIC), Syngenta and NIAB. Details have been published in the New Phytologist, along with the open-source software and data.

Carmel O’Neill, research assistant in the Penfield Group at John Innes Centre says: “Currently most seed germination is still recorded manually. Against this, SeedGerm presents fast, accurate, high throughput screening and will be of major interest to crop seed production companies and research programmes screening large germplasm collections.”

Scientists have developed a genetically modified strain of rice that could help fight against cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, can serve as a major risk factor when it comes to heart problems — and are often treated by a type of synthetic drugs known as ACE inhibitors, carrying a number of side effects including dry cough, headache, skin rashes and kidney impairment.

However some naturally-occurring ACE inhibitors can be found in certain food items like milk, eggs, fish, meat and plants — showing fewer side effects but proving to have been too expensive and time consuming to merit purifying them on their own.

In an environmental audit meeting on Thursday (18 June), UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice offered his support for gene editing after Brexit, saying that the UK government disagrees with the EU stance on the matter.

Addressing MPs via video call, Eustice said that “gene editing is an area that we ought to be considering if we want to reduce our reliance to pesticides,” highlighting that improved genetic resistance will be important for pest and disease challenges.

He stated that the UK government thinks “gene editing techniques like CRISPR are really a more targeted form of conventional plant breeding, allowing to move or modify a particular gene within a certain species,” adding that he considered some of these techniques as “an extension of conventional plant breeding.”

n an unprecedented move, a group of German Green MPs, including one EU lawmaker, have backed the use of gene editing technologies in a new paper, diverging from the party’s general position and saying genetic engineering could play a key role in improving sustainability.

The paper, published last Wednesday (10 June), calls for a “modern’ approach to regulation of genetic engineering. In general, the Greens, as well as most environmental groups, have been vocally opposed to the use of genetic engineering technologies.

This paper is the first time that there has been such a dissenting position from within the party, although support for genome editing has been growing in recent years, notably among the younger Greens. It states that gene-editing technology could have an important role to play in improving sustainability, highlighting that it offers opportunities “for a healthy planet and thus for the good of people and the environment”.

Peers are preparing plans to legalise the gene-editing of crops in England, a move that scientists say would offer the nation a chance to develop and grow hardier, more nutritious varieties. The legislation would also open the door to gene-editing of animals.

The change will be proposed when the current Agriculture Bill reaches its committee stages in the House of Lords next month, and is supported by a wide number of peers who believe such a move is long overdue. At present, the practice is highly restricted by EU regulations.

The plan would involve introducing an amendment to the bill to give the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs the power to make changes to the Environmental Protection Act, alterations that would no longer restrict gene-editing in England. The rest of the UK would need separate legislation.

The agriculture bill, now going through parliament, could influence whether we use gene editing on our farms. At present, this country is out of line with the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and Japan in that our regulatory framework prevents gene editing in crops and farm animals. A proposed amendment to the bill will not lead to unregulated use of gene editing but, if passed, it would give the secretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the power to consult widely and make appropriate changes to the regulatory process.

Is it important that we edit the genes of our crops? This answer is a definite “yes”. Agriculture faces huge challenges due to Covid-19, climate change and, for the UK, post-Brexit. Farmers have delivered admirably until now – there are more well-fed people on the planet than at any time in history – but, to help them meet the future challenges, they will need all of the help that science can offer. Gene editing is one powerful part of that help.

[....] Is gene editing more or less safe than conventional plant breeding? The answer, unusually for a scientific question, is clear and unequivocal: gene editing is at least as safe as plant breeding.

Farmers are set to trial several new robot-based systems this season on farms producing strawberries, apples, blueberries, lettuce and broccoli.

A UK agri-food consortium has been formed to address labour shortages by accelerating the use of robotics and automation (R&A) for picking soft fruit and vegetables. The aim is for approved technologies to be manufactured at scale and fully implemented for the 2021 season.

The effort is being co-ordinated by the NFU, University of Lincoln, Agri-EPI Centre, the Manufacturing Technology Centre, and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), with the backing of more than 100 food producers.

Norwich food-tech firm Tropic Biosciences is set to push the development of its gene-edited bananas and coffee into field trials after raising $28.5m from investors.

The start-up, led by a former Israeli naval commander, uses gene editing technology known as CRISPR to cut away sequences of DNA in crops that might make them susceptible to diseases and pathogens.

To date, the company has had a particular focus on Cavendish bananas, a variety of the fruit which has come to dominate the global export market of bananas worth more than $13.6bn but is at risk of wipeout from the Panama disease caused by a deadly fungus.

The debate on climate change is something farmers have to take control of, otherwise they will just be pushed around. That is the central thought that has encouraged former NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller to take on the joint chairmanship of the independent Farming for 1.5 Degrees group.

With 10 members, including four farmers as well as scientists and environmentalists, the Edinburgh- based group is to explore how a low carbon landscape can support a bright future for farming and food.

In an interview with Farmers Guardian, Mr Miller said: “Unless we can change mindsets, we will not have the freedom to farm in the future. I want to see ideas that farmers can get behind to help keep average temperatures rising by more than 1.5degC while at the same time meeting the Scottish Government’s net zero carbon emissions by 2045 (the Westminster’s Government’s target is 2050).”

The makers of Ribena have invested over half a million pounds in a five-year project to develop new varieties of climate-resilient blackcurrants.

Lucozade Ribena Suntory (LRS), which uses 90% of the blackcurrants grown in Britain to make Ribena, has teamed up with the James Hutton Institute. Around 10,000 tonnes of blackcurrants are harvested from British fields each year to keep up with consumer demand for the soft drink.

Previous research from the institute, based in Dundee, has highlighted the threat that climate change poses to blackcurrant farming.