The integration of cover crops within arable rotations is becoming increasingly popular due to their widely acknowledged benefits. Subsidisation of cover cropping is available to eligible farmers in the Republic of Ireland but not to Northern Ireland (NI) farmers. There has been little research focus on ROI and NI growers’ perceptions about the husbandry associated with cover crops and the benefits

Uromycladium acaciae has damaged plantations of Acacia mearnsii in southern Africa since 2013. Uredinia of a species of Uromycladium have been known on A. mearnsii in South Africa since the 1980s. However, the recent damage is associated with telia and spermogonia. Uredinia and telia were previously treated as conspecific with a phylogenetic species concept. However, uredinia did not form after previous

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic in 1986 highlighted the importance of the rendering industry as a key component of the food supply chain. Prior to 1986 the rendering industry was poorly understood. However, following the emergence of BSE research was commissioned to characterise rendering systems and investigate their ability to inactivate transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

Compact and dry soils impede root growth and restrict plant water availability, respectively, potentially causing leaf water deficit. Although both stresses likely co‐occur in the field and limit yield, little is known about their combined impact on plant growth and physiology over a whole season, especially in a tuberous crop like potato. Field‐grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L. var. ‘Maris Piper’)

Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), is a native pest of more than 65 plant species in China. To date, only two parasitoids are well recognized for biological control of this pest, among which, the egg parasitoid Anastatus orientalis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is known to account for approximately 69% of parasitism observed in the field. Variable emergence timings have been

Phosphorus (P), an essential macronutrient for all living organisms, is required in large amounts for the growth and development of plants. Although total soil P level is high, P bioavailability to plants is suboptimal in most soils due to high fixation rates into inorganic and organic insoluble complexes. Hence, plants are highly dependent on mechanisms that allow them to adapt to low‐phosphate stress

Studying aberrations of normal developmental processes like plant tumor initiation provides a great opportunity for understanding of systemic control of plant cells differentiation. Most well‐studied example of plant tumor is the crown gall caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens; much less studied are spontaneous tumors developing in plants with certain genotype, regardless of agrobacterial infection

The Board of Editors from the Annals of Applied Biology together with the Association of Applied Biologists (AAB) and Wiley have systematically discussed new alternatives to make the journal more attractive and useful to its audience in the field of agricultural science. In 2019, Annals' Senior Editors agreed on the publication of special issues on key important topics/areas. The first special issue

Metalloids represents wide range of elements with intermediate physio‐chemical properties between metals and non‐metals. Many of the metalloids, like boron, selenium, and silicon are known to be essential or quasi‐essential for plant growth. In contrast, metalloids viz., arsenic and germanium are toxic to plant growth. The toxicity of metalloids largely depends on their concentration within the living

“Interviews” is a new type of publication we are introducing in Annals of Applied Biology from 2019. The first one is with Prof. Simon Leather who has been on the board of Annals since 2005 as a Senior Editor and since 2015 as the Editor‐in‐Chief. We hope you enjoy reading this article and to know a bit more about Simon's research activities and his work as an Editor for Annals. Q: Tell us a bit about