Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Ann Appl Biol 2021 May 19;178(3):466-479. Epub 2020 Oct 19.

Laboratory of Plant Physiology Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB) Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire.

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD), caused by cassava mosaic begomoviruses (CMBs), is a major threat to cassava production in Nigeria. The predominant CMBs in Nigeria are African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV), East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) and East African cassava mosaic Cameroon virus (EACMCV), which are transmitted through infected stem cuttings and whitefly vectors. This study was conducted in 2015 and 2017 to assess the epidemiology of CMD and the current distribution of CMBs in cassava farms in South West (SW) and North Central (NC) Nigeria. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2021 Jan 4;178(1):6-22. Epub 2020 Sep 4.

Plant Sciences Department Rothamsted Research Harpenden UK.

Asparagine synthetase catalyses the transfer of an amino group from glutamine to aspartate to form glutamate and asparagine. The accumulation of free (nonprotein) asparagine in crops has implications for food safety because free asparagine is the precursor for acrylamide, a carcinogenic contaminant that forms during high-temperature cooking and processing. Here we review publicly available genome data for asparagine synthetase genes from species of the Pooideae subfamily, including bread wheat and related wheat species ( and spp. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2020 Sep 15;177(2):184-194. Epub 2020 Jul 15.

Rothamsted Research Harpenden UK.

The bird cherry-oat aphid ( L.) is a major pest of wheat ( L.) and can cause up to 30% yield losses. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2019 Nov 7;175(3):259-281. Epub 2019 Aug 7.

Plant Sciences Department Rothamsted Research Harpenden UK.

Acrylamide is a processing contaminant and Group 2a carcinogen that was discovered in foodstuffs in 2002. Its presence in a range of popular foods has become one of the most difficult problems facing the food industry and its supply chain. Wheat, rye and potato products are major sources of dietary acrylamide, with biscuits, breakfast cereals, bread (particularly toasted), crispbread, batter, cakes, pies, French fries, crisps and snack products all affected. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2019 Jan 26;174(1):92-105. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Institute of Food and Agricultural Technology-CIDSAV-XaRTA University of Girona Girona Spain.

The use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to control multiple pathogens that affect different crops was studied, namely, pv. in kiwifruit, pv. in and in strawberry. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2019 6;176(2):1-13. Epub 2019 Nov 6.

Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Viruses limit sweetpotato () production worldwide. Many sweetpotato landraces in East Africa are, however, largely virus-free. Moreover, some plants infected by the prevalent Sweet (SPFMV) may be able to revert to virus-free status. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2017 Mar 12;170(2):179-188. Epub 2016 Dec 12.

Department of Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection Rothamsted Research Harpenden Hertfordshire UK.

Insect pests can reduce wheat yield by direct feeding and transmission of plant viruses. Here we report results from laboratory and field phenotyping studies on a wide range of wheat, including landraces from the Watkins collection deriving from before the green revolution, more modern cultivars from the Gediflux collection (north-western Europe) and modern UK Elite varieties, for resistance to the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (Homoptera: Aphididae) and the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (Homoptera: Aphididae). A total of 338 lines were screened for R. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2016 May 29;168(3):435-449. Epub 2016 Feb 29.

Department of Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection Rothamsted Research Hertfordshire AL5 5JQ UK.

Crop protection is an integral part of establishing food security, by protecting the yield potential of crops. Cereal aphids cause yield losses by direct damage and transmission of viruses. Some wild relatives of wheat show resistance to aphids but the mechanisms remain unresolved. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2015 Nov 2;167(3):387-405. Epub 2015 Jul 2.

Department of AgronomyUniversity of AlmeriaAlmeríaSpain; BITAL Research Centre for Agricultural and Food BiotechnologyUniversity of AlmeriaAlmeríaSpain.

Evaluation of crop N status will assist optimal N management of intensive vegetable production. Simple procedures for monitoring crop N status such as petiole sap [NO -N], leaf N content and soil solution [NO ] were evaluated with indeterminate tomato and muskmelon. Their sensitivity to assess crop N status throughout each crop was evaluated using linear regression analysis against nitrogen nutrition index (NNI) and crop N content. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2015 Jan 19;166(1):4-17. Epub 2015 Jan 19.

South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Many innovations in the development and use of air sampling devices have occurred in plant pathology since the first description of the Hirst spore trap. These include improvements in capture efficiency at relatively high air-volume collection rates, methods to enhance the ease of sample processing with downstream diagnostic methods and even full automation of sampling, diagnosis and wireless reporting of results. Other innovations have been to mount air samplers on mobile platforms such as UAVs and ground vehicles to allow sampling at different altitudes and locations in a short space of time to identify potential sources and population structure. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2015 Jan 27;166(1):18-38. Epub 2014 Oct 27.

Department of Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland.

The soft rot (SRE) and species (formerly classified as pectinolytic spp.) cause important diseases on potato and other arable and horticultural crops. They may affect the growing potato plant causing blackleg and are responsible for tuber soft rot in storage thereby reducing yield and quality. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2014 Nov 11;165(3):340-363. Epub 2014 Jun 11.

Rothamsted Research Harpenden, UK.

Experiments on the Rothamsted and Woburn Experimental Farms studied the effects on take-all of different break crops and of set-aside/conservation covers that interrupted sequences of winter wheat. There was no evidence for different effects on take-all of the break crops but the presence of volunteers, in crops of oilseed rape, increased the amounts of take-all in the following wheat. Severity of take-all was closely related to the numbers of volunteers in the preceding break crops and covers, and was affected by the date of their destruction. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2014 Jan 21;164(3):354-372. Epub 2014 Feb 21.

Plant Biology and Crop Science Department, Rothamsted Research Harpenden, Hertfordshirex, UK.

Current wheat yield and consumption is considered in the context of the historical development of wheat, from early domestication through to modern plant breeding, the Green Revolution and wheat's place as one of the world's most productive and important crops in the 21st Century. The need for further improvement in the yield potential of wheat in order to meet current and impending challenges is discussed, including rising consumption and the demand for grain for fuel as well as food. Research on the complex genetics underlying wheat yield is described, including the identification of quantitative trait loci and individual genes, and the prospects of biotechnology playing a role in wheat improvement in the future are discussed. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2014 Jan 23;164(2):286-300. Epub 2014 Jan 23.

Plant Biology and Crop Science Department, Rothamsted Research Harpenden, UK.

Free amino acids and reducing sugars participate in the Maillard reaction during high-temperature cooking and processing. This results not only in the formation of colour, aroma and flavour compounds, but also undesirable contaminants, including acrylamide, which forms when the amino acid that participates in the reaction is asparagine. In this study, tubers of 13 varieties of potato (), which had been produced in a field trial in 2010 and sampled immediately after harvest or after storage for 6 months, were analysed to show the relationship between the concentrations of free asparagine, other free amino acids, sugars and acrylamide-forming potential. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 2014 Nov 13;165(3):474-487. Epub 2014 Sep 13.

Department of Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland.

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for simultaneous, fast and reliable detection of the main soft rot and blackleg potato pathogens in Europe has been developed. It utilises three pairs of primers and enables detection of three groups of pectinolytic bacteria frequently found in potato, namely: , subsp. together with and spp. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1997 Jun 28;130(3):587-592. Epub 2008 Jun 28.

Unidad de ProtecciÓt de Cultivos, ETSI Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E-28040 Madrid, Spain.

Virus-like particles (VLP's) have been found in the poison glands of adult females of the parasitic wasp Szèpl. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae). These VLP's are found in the secretory cells either free in the cytoplasm or within cytoplasmic vesicles, sometimes associated to a secretory apparatus. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1979 Apr;91(3):403-17

Ann Appl Biol 1978 Jul;89(2):354-8

Ann Appl Biol 1978 May;89(1):149-51

Ann Appl Biol 1978 May;89(1):145-8

Ann Appl Biol 1978 May;89(1):143-5

Ann Appl Biol 1977 May;86(1):37-46

Using specific antisera, it was possible to identify mild (MII-I6) and the O and I strains of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in tomato plants infected with the mild strain following challenge inoculation with the wild strains. In addition, with single lesion isolates of the MII-I6 and O strains it has been shown that both strains can be assayed simultaneously in mixed isolates on Nicotiana glutinisa based on differences in local lesion size. The accuracy of this differential local lesion assay was c. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1977 Apr;85(3):319-31

The reproduction of apterous and alate morphs of the aphids Sitobion avenae and Metopolophium dirhodum is compared on the basis of fecundity in 5- and 10-day periods of adult life. Apterae of both species are consistently more fecund than alatae of comparable weight, producing about three more nymphs on average in any 5-day period. The reproductive differences are related to the number and quality of embryos at eclosion and to ovulation rates, both of which in turn appear to be linked to wing-muscle maintenance. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1977 Mar;85(2):313-6

A description is given of a simple flow cell and modifications to an amino acid autoanalyser. These allow continuous monitoring of the 14C in effluent from chromatographic columns using a standard liquid scintillation counter. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1977 Mar;85(2):305-8

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that maize streak (MSV) and cassava latent (CLV) viruses each contain one species of protein and two of RNA. The estimated protein mol. wt is 28000 for MSV and 34000 for CLV. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1977 Mar;85(2):301-4

Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Mucor mucedo, Phoma state of Didymella applanata, Cryptococcus laurentii var. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1977 Mar;85(2):181-93

Twenty-six biochemical tests were used to study cultures of basidiomycetes isolated from roots of fruit-trees and other plants. The results enabled isolates to be placed into one of sixteen groups. Three of these groups were identified as Collybia drucei, Corticium utriculicum and Heteroporus biennis by matching their biochemical reactions with those of isolates from fruiting bodies of these fungi. Read More

Ann Appl Biol 1977 Jan;85(1):1-12

Ann Appl Biol 1976 Oct;84(2):193-204

Ann Appl Biol 1976 Sep;84(1):31-41