26 June 2015

Barbara Halkier partner in EU-funded project on fighting disease in oil seed rape crops

GRANT

Together with partners in the UK, Holland, Germany and Poland, Head of DynaMo Professor Barbara Ann Halkier received an EU grant to improve disease control in oilseed rape. The project is the first major European effort on genetic control of the most important diseases in this crop providing edible oil, biodiesel and protein for animal feed.

Oilseed rape is a key crop worldwide, producing edible oil, biodiesel and protein for animal feed. However, diseases are a major factor limiting rape production and this threat is increasing due to climate change and the imminent withdrawal of agrochemicals. In this project nine researchers from five European countries propose to develop novel approaches to disease control using quantitative disease resistance (QDR), a method considered broad-spectrum and durable.

Funding:

The second ERA-CAPS call “Expanding the European Research Area in Molecular Plant Sciences”

Title of project:

Mechanistic Analysis of Quantitative Disease Resistance in Brassica by Associative Transcriptomics ( MAQBAT)

Grant share awarded to Barbara Halkier:

271.700 EUR

Details:

Find abstract, list of project partners and other details here