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Our Services
The teams in the Crop & Soil Systems Research Group have expertise in the following areas:
• Interactions between plants and pathogenic bacteria
• Interactions between plants and pathogenic fungi
• Interactions between plants and phytophagous insects
• Induced Resistance
• Physiological response to and host tolerance of plant disease
• Use of cultivar mixtures for disease control
• Spread of fungal pathogens within cereal crop canopies
• Interactions of microbes with leaf surfaces
• Sustainable approaches to plant disease control
• General plant and crop physiology
• Tolerance to plant disease
• Using crop genetic diversity to enhance disease control
• Long-term impact of rotations on production and environment
• Role of inter-crops in nutrient cycling
• Improving phosphorus and nitrogen use efficiency in sustainable cropping systems
• Improving the sustainability of cropping systems design
• Organic farming systems
• Measuring and modelling GHG emissions from agricultural land
• Managing micronutrients in agricultural systems
As well as a controlled environment suite comprising heated glasshouses, two large walk-in growth rooms and several growth cabinets, we also have excellent facilities for field work at both small and large plot levels.
We also possess a large, fully operational wind tunnel for use in experiments on pathogen spore movement in simulated crop canopies and are able to carry out physiological investigations (photosynthesis, transpiration using Infra Red Gas Analysis, for example), insect electrophysiology, histology, biochemical work, including enzyme analysis, metabolite determination, using stable and radioisotope labelling techniques, spectrofluorimetry, spectrophotometry, gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and molecular biology.
Our very well equipped molecular biology suite includes facilities for rapid, reliable DNA extraction (FastPrep), electrophoresis, PCR, gel documentation, and apparatus for biolistics.
We have excellent facilities for culturing invertebrates and plant pathogens in vitro and in vivo and have image analysis facilities for accurate and reliable determination of lesion development on plants.
Analytical Services
SAC's Analytical Services Department tests a range of agricultural and other materials for consultancy and research purposes.
Crop Clinic
The Crop Clinic website gives you detailed, up-to-date information on pests, weeds and diseases affecting crops in Scotland, along with integrated crop management solutions.