Chinese agricultural scientists impressed by AFBI science

A group of Chinese agricultural scientists has spent the week with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) for training on grass and clover evaluation at AFBI’s Plant Testing Station at Crossnacreevy. Many of the 17 scientists are directors of grass evaluation stations from geographically widespread regions including the island of Hainan in the south, Fuzhou in the east, Inner Mongolia in the north, Lhasa in Tibet and Beijing.

Led by Professor Yun Xujiang, Director of the Grassland and Forage Division within the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture’s National Animal Husbandry Service, the visitors spent three days studying the processes and principles of grass and clover variety evaluation at AFBI. These methods are used in producing the annual DARD Recommended Lists. 

Dr Trevor Gilliland, Head of AFBI’s Agriculture Branch, provided an in-depth briefing of the international (UPOV) guidelines and EU directives on which variety evaluation is based.  Gerry Hoppè and team members discussed the determination of distinctness (D), uniformity (U) and stability (S) of new varieties.  The critical importance of trial replication and the complex statistical analyses required using data collected over a minimum of two years from trials were carefully considered by the delegation.  The characteristics used for variety evaluation have been developed and optimised over many years, and include date of ear emergence and vegetative growth habit, measured in the field, and lengths of structures of the ears, measured in the laboratory. 

Dr Eamonn Meehan and team discussed “Value for Cultivation and Use” trials leading to the listing of grass and clover varieties in the National and Recommended lists.  Aspects discussed included replications and numbers of trials, management regimes and duration of trials.  Specialised machinery for plot harvesting was of particular interest.  Decision-making processes involving the industry and knowledge transfer strategies were also discussed.

The Chinese delegation was very impressed by the methods, techniques and processes used by AFBI in variety evaluation and especially by the role played by the DARD Recommended Lists in benefiting the agricultural economy of Northern Ireland. The delegation commented that the principles and practices used by AFBI in variety evaluation would provide excellent guidance in developing the Chinese evaluation system.

The delegation also visited AFBI’s sites at Hillsborough and Loughgall and spent a day at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair.

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