Crops

Team Leader of Agronomy Select and Dean of Centre at SAC Aberdeen

As Team Leader, I manage 37 staff that carry out applied R&D and consultancy on all the major crops in Scotland.  Included in the staff are two field teams who carry out all aspects of field trial work.  In addition, I co-ordinate the SAC Potato Team activities.  This is a group of over 20 staff across SAC who are fully or partly involved with the potato crop in consultancy, training and R&D.   As Dean of Centre I act as the main point of contact on the Aberdeen Campus for SAC.

Consultancy:  My consultancy activities focus entirely on potatoes.  SAC has a group of potato consultants who provide agronomy and specialist advice to growers, grower groups, potato companies, merchants, distributors and agrochemical companies.  Whilst the majority of our consultancy activities are in the UK, we have carried out consultancy across the world.

Personally, I carry out agronomy consultancy with seed and pre-pack growers and grower groups in the UK.  This varies from day to day consultancy to strategic advice.  Internationally, I have carried out consultancy on potatoes in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Poland and USA.  Other overseas consultancy has been for the World Bank (MAKIS project in Romania) and an EU Twinning project (Ring Rot control in Poland).
As part of SAC’s consultancy activities, I have carried out many training courses for the potato industry.  These include courses in Potato Store Management (over 30 in 20 years), Store Hygiene, Into-store management and various potato diseases.

I have been a regular speaker on a wide range of potato topics on public platforms and the author of many popular articles in the press.

In recent years I have been involved as an expert witness in many litigation/compensation cases, mostly involving potatoes.

From 1987 to the present, I have edited a quarterly Potato Newsletter.  This technical magazine was funded initially by the SSPDC and subsequently by the British potato Council.  Since 2006 it has been produced exclusively by SAC as an electronic magazine.  It is widely read by potato growers in the UK and abroad and by the potato industry.

Research:  My research activities include securing and managing BPC, Scottish Government and commercially funded R&D, primarily on potato pathology.  Pathogens studied include Colletotrichum coccodes, Erwinia carotovora, Fusarium spp., Helminthosporium solani, Rhizoctonia solani, Spongospora subterranea, Streptomyces scabies, Polyscytalum pustulans.  Currently, I am involved in BPC-funded disease resistance testing and a soil/tuber diagnostics project.

Relevant projects led:  Developing effective integrated control measures for the control of black dot (BPC/SEERAD), Epidemiology, autecology and control of Spongospora subterranea, cause of potato powdery scab (BPC/SEERAD), Potato Store Hygiene (BPC).

Teaching:  In the past I have been involved with teaching plant pathology and crop protection to BSc Agriculture and MSc Crop Protection students.  Recently, I have become external examiner for Harper Adams University College Agriculture course and subject examiner for Crop Science.  I have supervised 6 PhD, 1 MPhil and 4 MSc students and acted as an external examiner for MPhil and PhD students.

Other professional activities:  I have been Vice-President (2002), President-elect (2003) and President (2004) of the British Society for Plant Pathology and President and Vice President European Foundation for Plant Pathology (2004-2007).  I am chairman of the Scottish Society for Crop Research, the Association for Crop Protection in Northern Britain and the PC Ltd Potato Crop Protection Treater Group (formerly BCPC Potato Treater Group).

Prizes:  Hardie Memorial prize (2002) presented by the VTSC Association and Haig Trophy (2005) awarded by the National Association of Seed Potato Merchants for services to the potato seed industry.

Selected publications:

Book: Wale, S J; Platt, H (Bud); Cattlin, N (2008) Diseases, pests and disorders of potatoes: A colour atlas.  Manson Publishing. 176pp.

Publications in journals and conference proceedings

• Wale S (2008) Effectiveness of pre-planting potato fungicide treatments against non-target diseases. Proceedings Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2008, 271-276.
• van der Graaf P, Wale S, Lees AK (2007) Factors affecting the incidence and severity of Spongospora subterranea infection and galling in potato roots.  Plant Pathology 56, 1005-1013.
• Wale S J (2006) A fungus eye view of potato storage.  Proceedings Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2006, 307-312.
• Lees A K, Wale S J, van der Graaf P, Brierley J L (2005) The use of molecular diagnostics to investigate the epidemiology of potato diseases.  Australasian Plant Pathology, 34, 449-455.
• Wale S J (2005) The appliance of science.  Presidential address, September 2004.  Plant Pathology 54, 715-722
• van de Graaf P, Lees A K, Wale, S J, Duncan J M (2005) Effect of inoculum level and environmental factors on potato powdery scab caused by Spongospora subterranea.  Plant Pathology 54, 22-28.
• Wale S J (2004) Integrating knowledge of soil-borne pathogens to minimise disease risk in potato production.  Australasian Journal of Plant Pathology 33, 167-172.
• Wale S J (2004) Should growers adopt a risk-averse approach to Crop Protection in Potatoes? Proceedings Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2004, 261-266.
• Wale S J (2002) Potential for chemical control of Spongospora subterranea, cause of powdery scab of potatoes and vector of Potato mop-top virus.  BCPC Brighton Conference 2002, Pests and diseases. In press.