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Water use efficiency responses to fluctuating soil water availability in contrasting commercial sugar beet varieties (2023)
Journal Article
Barratt, G. E., Murchie, E. H., & Sparkes, D. L. (2023). Water use efficiency responses to fluctuating soil water availability in contrasting commercial sugar beet varieties. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, Article 1119321. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1119321

Many areas of sugar beet production will face hotter and drier summers as the climate changes. There has been much research on drought tolerance in sugar beet but water use efficiency (WUE) has been less of a focus. An experiment was undertaken to ex... Read More about Water use efficiency responses to fluctuating soil water availability in contrasting commercial sugar beet varieties.

Does canopy angle influence radiation use efficiency of sugar beet? (2023)
Journal Article
Tillier, L., Murchie, E. H., & Sparkes, D. L. (2023). Does canopy angle influence radiation use efficiency of sugar beet?. Field Crops Research, 293, Article 108841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.108841

Sugar beet varieties differ greatly in their canopy architecture and can be classified into canopy types according to their petiole angle. Leaf angle is one of the key factors which determines the efficiency with which plant canopies utilise incident... Read More about Does canopy angle influence radiation use efficiency of sugar beet?.

Environmental and farming practice controls of productivity of Cyrtosperma merkusii (giant swamp taro), an underutilised wetland and potential paludiculture crop (2023)
Journal Article
Mendiondo, G., Moko, E. M., Sparkes, D. L., Rahardiyan, D., Welham, S. J. M., O'Reilly, P., …Sjögersten, S. (2023). Environmental and farming practice controls of productivity of Cyrtosperma merkusii (giant swamp taro), an underutilised wetland and potential paludiculture crop. Food and Energy Security, 13(1), Article e490. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.490

Growing recognition of the potential vulnerabilities of major crop systems has spurred a growing interest in the potential of alternative crops which may be resilient to climate change and also help mitigate its effects. In Indonesia, such issues are... Read More about Environmental and farming practice controls of productivity of Cyrtosperma merkusii (giant swamp taro), an underutilised wetland and potential paludiculture crop.

Dissecting the trade-off of grain number and size in wheat (2021)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., & Sparkes, D. L. (2021). Dissecting the trade-off of grain number and size in wheat. Planta, 254(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-021-03658-5

Main conclusion: Principal component and meta-QTL analyses identified genetic loci affecting the trade-off of wheat grain number and size, which could provide opportunities to optimize local breeding strategies for further yield improvement. Abstract... Read More about Dissecting the trade-off of grain number and size in wheat.

Anisohydric sugar beet rapidly responds to light to optimize leaf water use efficiency utilizing numerous small stomata (2020)
Journal Article
Barratt, G. E., Sparkes, D. L., McAusland, L., & Murchie, E. H. (2021). Anisohydric sugar beet rapidly responds to light to optimize leaf water use efficiency utilizing numerous small stomata. AoB PLANTS, 13(1), Article plaa067. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plaa067

© 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. Under conditions of high transpiration and low soil water availability, the demand for water can exceed supply causing a reduction in water pot... Read More about Anisohydric sugar beet rapidly responds to light to optimize leaf water use efficiency utilizing numerous small stomata.

Impact of water availability on root growth of sugar beet varieties (2020)
Journal Article
Fitters, T. F., Mooney, S. J., & Sparkes, D. L. (2022). Impact of water availability on root growth of sugar beet varieties. Soil Use and Management, 38(1), 1033-1043. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12664

© 2020 The Authors. Soil Use and Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society of Soil Science On average, sugar beet yield in the UK is reduced by 10% due to water limitation. The root system of a plant is responsible... Read More about Impact of water availability on root growth of sugar beet varieties.

Short-term impacts of different tillage practices and plant residue retention on soil physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions (2020)
Journal Article
Alskaf, K., Mooney, S. J., Sparkes, D. L., Wilson, P., & Sjögersten, S. (2021). Short-term impacts of different tillage practices and plant residue retention on soil physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions. Soil and Tillage Research, 206, Article 104803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2020.104803

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Reducing tillage intensity and plant residue retention have the potential to mitigate climate change by reducing soil greenhouse gas emissions. Few comparative studies have explored the effects of different tillage practices and... Read More about Short-term impacts of different tillage practices and plant residue retention on soil physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions.

The uptake of different tillage practices in England (2019)
Journal Article
Alskaf, K., Sparkes, D. L., Mooney, S. J., Sjögersten, S., & Wilson, P. (2020). The uptake of different tillage practices in England. Soil Use and Management, 36(1), 27-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12542

Reduced tillage systems have been argued to provide several potential benefits to soil, environment and to farm incomes. In England, while many farms have partially adopted such practices, a large proportion of arable farmers do not undertake reduced... Read More about The uptake of different tillage practices in England.

A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and specific detection of airborne inoculum of Uromyces betae (sugar beet rust) (2019)
Journal Article
Kaczmarek, A., King, K., West, J., Stevens, M., Sparkes, D., & Dickinson, M. (2019). A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and specific detection of airborne inoculum of Uromyces betae (sugar beet rust). Plant Disease, 103(3), 417-421. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-18-0337-RE

Sugar beet rust disease (causal agent Uromyces betae) represents a serious threat to worldwide sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) crops, causing yield losses of up to 10% in the UK. Currently, the disease is managed mainly by application of fungicides after... Read More about A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and specific detection of airborne inoculum of Uromyces betae (sugar beet rust).

Soil compaction effects on litter decomposition in an arable field: implications for management of crop residues and headlands (2018)
Journal Article
Carlesso, L., Beadle, A., Cook, S. M., Evans, J., Hartwell, G., Ritz, K., …Murray, P. J. (2019). Soil compaction effects on litter decomposition in an arable field: implications for management of crop residues and headlands. Applied Soil Ecology, 134, 31-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.10.004

Soil compaction is a major threat to agricultural soils. Heavy machinery is responsible for damaging soil chemical, physical and biological properties. Among these, organic matter decomposition, which is predominantly mediated by the soil biota, is a... Read More about Soil compaction effects on litter decomposition in an arable field: implications for management of crop residues and headlands.

Wheat straw availability for bioenergy in England (2018)
Journal Article
Townsend, T., Sparkes, D., Ramsden, S., Glithero, N., & Wilson, P. (2018). Wheat straw availability for bioenergy in England. Energy Policy, 122, 349-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.07.053

In an effort to meet energy demands while reducing carbon emissions, crop residues, such as wheat straw, have been investigated for their use as feedstock for biofuel production. In order to identify the feasibility of utilising crop residues as bioe... Read More about Wheat straw availability for bioenergy in England.

Canopy and ear traits associated with avoidance of Fusarium head blight in wheat (2018)
Journal Article
Jones, S., Farooqi, A., Foulkes, J., Sparkes, D. L., Linforth, R., & Ray, R. V. (2018). Canopy and ear traits associated with avoidance of Fusarium head blight in wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, Article 1021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01021

Doubled haploid and elite wheat genotypes were ground inoculated in three field experiments and head spray inoculated in two glasshouse experiments, using mixed Fusarium and Microdochium species, to identify crop canopy and ear traits associated with... Read More about Canopy and ear traits associated with avoidance of Fusarium head blight in wheat.

Evaluating resistant brassica trap crops to manage Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) infestations in Eastern England (2018)
Journal Article
Wright, A. J., Back, M. A., Stevens, M., & Sparkes, D. L. (2019). Evaluating resistant brassica trap crops to manage Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) infestations in Eastern England. Pest Management Science, 75(2), 438-443. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5134

BACKGROUND: The beet cyst nematode (BCN), Heterodera schachtii Schmidt, is a plant parasitic nematode which causes severe losses to yields of sugar beet. Resistant brassicas (radish and mustard) have been bred to be planted after the harvest of a ma... Read More about Evaluating resistant brassica trap crops to manage Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) infestations in Eastern England.

Sugar beet root growth under different watering regimes: a minirhizotron study (2018)
Journal Article
Fitters, T. F., Mooney, S. J., & Sparkes, D. L. (2018). Sugar beet root growth under different watering regimes: a minirhizotron study. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2018.06.023

The yield of sugar beet is often reduced by drought stress and it has previously been shown that water uptake, especially from deeper layers of the soil profile, may be limited by inadequate total root length. Experiments were conducted to assess roo... Read More about Sugar beet root growth under different watering regimes: a minirhizotron study.

Physiological differences between sugar beet varieties susceptible, tolerant or resistant to the beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) under uninfested conditions (2018)
Journal Article
Wright, A. J., Bussell, J. S., Stevens, M., Back, M. A., & Sparkes, D. L. (2018). Physiological differences between sugar beet varieties susceptible, tolerant or resistant to the beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) under uninfested conditions. European Journal of Agronomy, 98, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2018.05.005

The beet cyst nematode (BCN) is a problem to sugar beet growers around the world and can cause severe yield losses. Recently, varieties of sugar beet have been developed which are either tolerant to damage caused by BCN, or alternatively are resistan... Read More about Physiological differences between sugar beet varieties susceptible, tolerant or resistant to the beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) under uninfested conditions.

Pleiotropic effects of the wheat domestication gene Q on yield and grain morphology (2018)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Li, N., Yang, Y., Lv, Y., Yao, H., Wei, R., …Ma, Z. (in press). Pleiotropic effects of the wheat domestication gene Q on yield and grain morphology. Planta, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-018-2847-4

Transformation from q to Q during wheat domestication functioned outside the boundary of threshability to increase yield, grains m−2, grain weight and roundness, but to reduce grains per spike/spikelet. Mutation of the Q gene, well-known affecting w... Read More about Pleiotropic effects of the wheat domestication gene Q on yield and grain morphology.

Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes (2017)
Journal Article
Fitters, T. F., Bussell, J. S., Mooney, S. J., & Sparkes, D. L. (2017). Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 144, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2017.10.001

Sugar beet yield worldwide is substantially reduced as a result of drought stress. Water uptake may be limited by the plant (e.g. low root density) or by soil physical constraints. An experiment was conducted to assess the ability of sugar beet to pr... Read More about Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes.

Quantification of seed-soil contact of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) using X-ray Computed Tomography (2017)
Journal Article
Sparkes, D., Bussell, J., Blunk, S., Malik, A. H., de Heer, M. I., Ekblad, T., …Mooney, S. J. (2017). Quantification of seed-soil contact of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) using X-ray Computed Tomography. Plant Methods, 13(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-017-0220-4

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: Seed-soil contact is important to ensure successful germination, however, there is a paucity of reported studies that have quantified the microstructure at and around this critical interface, mainly due to the opacit... Read More about Quantification of seed-soil contact of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) using X-ray Computed Tomography.

Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat (2017)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Fernando, K., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (in press). Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat. Annals of Botany, 119(7), https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx001

Background and Aims: Plant roots growing underground are critical for soil resource acquisition, anchorage and plant-environment interactions. In wheat (Triticum aestivum), however, the target root traits to improve yield potential still remain large... Read More about Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat.

Preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs defines yield components in wheat (2016)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (2016). Preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs defines yield components in wheat. European Journal of Agronomy, 81, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2016.08.007

The preanthesis period in wheat is critical for growth of plant organs including leaves, stems, spikes and roots. However, the roles of the preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs in yield determination are only partially elucidate... Read More about Preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs defines yield components in wheat.