Breeding for the Ideal Amenity Grass

Marker-assisted breeding and genotype mapping may eliminate long-term field trials, bringing improved grass varieties to market – and to amenity turfs – in record time. New processes at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS*) means plants can be tested as seedlings, reducing the time from initial development to completing STRI trials ­– which can take up to...

Whisky and waves: the future of Scottish isle’s power?

Communities on the Isle of Islay are moving forward with plans for tidal energy and renewable fuels while maintaining age old methods of agriculture and whisky distilling. (originally published in The Ecologist 12 November 2010). Everything seems to slow down on Islay – this southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides – also known as ‘The Queen of the Hebrides’. Drivers wave as...