Six-year UKRI-backed programme will strengthen national phenotyping capacity and accelerate the development of resilient crops.
The James Hutton Institute is proud to be a partner in PhenomUK, a major new £35 million, six-year research infrastructure funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund and led by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The programme is designed to accelerate the development of resilient crops and strengthen long-term food security by expanding the UK’s capacity to measure, analyse and understand crop performance.
Nationwide Crop Phenotyping Infrastructure
PhenomUK will deliver a coordinated, nationwide phenotyping infrastructure, tracking crops from controlled environments through to field conditions.
Phenomics is the science of measuring and analysing an organism’s traits — its characteristics — to understand how genes and the environment influence plant growth and development.
Using advanced imaging and automation, the programme will enable rapid testing of crop performance under stresses such as drought, heat and elevated CO₂. This will help speed up breeding, innovation and the transition from research to real-world agriculture.
Hutton’s Role Through the Advanced Plant Growth Centre
The Hutton’s contribution centres on the Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC), which includes facilities for molecular analysis, high-throughput phenotyping, vertical growth, post-harvest storage and controlled environments that can simulate current and future climates, according to a press release.
Its deputy director, Dr Rob Hancock, said, “PhenomUK represents a fantastic opportunity to integrate and expand UK phenotyping infrastructure. Through the development of shared approaches and methodologies, the network will significantly alleviate the phenotyping bottleneck, which has been caused by the rapid development of genetic analysis techniques as well as the size of crop populations, and which threatens to restrict developments in crop breeding.
A Seed-to-Field Pipeline for Crop Evaluation
By integrating controlled environments with field platforms, PhenomUK will deliver a “seed-to-field” pipeline for crop evaluation. Its national framework for data, access and collaboration will reduce duplication and accelerate innovation across academia and industry.
At a time of increased climate and resource pressures on UK agriculture, the project will support more precise crop development, strengthen food security and advance sustainable, resilient farming systems.
Part of the Tay Cities Region Deal
The APGC is part of a £62 million investment through the Tay Cities Region Deal (TCRD), a partnership between local, Scottish and UK governments and the private, academic and voluntary sectors.
The investment aims to revolutionise crop production systems, supporting the production of food with less environmental impact through state-of-the-art research and innovation infrastructure associated with precision and controlled-environment agriculture.
