Studentships and fellowship on offer to boost horticultural research

Four Horticultural Development Company (HDC) postgraduate studentships and one Teagasc Walsh Fellowship are available for academic institutions to apply for.

Teagasc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Horticultural Development Company (HDC) in the UK last year, to increase the levels of co-operation and collaboration between the two organisations for the benefit of the horticulture sectors in Ireland and the UK. This year, as part of the collaboration between the two organisations, a total of four HDC postgraduate studentships and one Teagasc Walsh Fellowship are available.

Since its inception in 2000, the HDC PhD Studentship Scheme has helped to produce high-quality research outputs, based on original ideas, leading to benefits to the horticultural industry. Crucially, the scheme has also delivered high-calibre practically-minded individuals to the industry for employment within both the commercial and academic horticultural arenas. A full list of previous and ongoing HDC Studentships can be found at http://exa.mn/7r.

The HDC typically offers up to four awards annually for postgraduate research studentships. Academic institutions that undertake research relevant to horticulture are eligible to apply. Applicants must be able to clearly demonstrate that the studentship supports the long-term profitability and sustainability of the horticultural industry. Funding is comparable with that provided by the Research Councils UK.

This year, HDC has also announced that as a result of a joint initiative between the HDC and Teagasc, a four-year Teagasc Walsh Fellowship (studentship €21,000 per annum) and a HDC studentship of 3 years — £67,650 (€84,084) are jointly offered.

Proposals in all areas are welcome but particularly research in the area of ornamental crops and integrated pest management as applied to edible crops. Proposals in other areas will also be considered.

The closing date for applications is Sept 10, 2012.

The HDC does not make studentship awards directly to students. Candidates must address their enquiries to the institution where they would like to undertake a research degree.

Meanwhile, some of the best-loved flowers of the British countryside are disappearing from arable fields, conservationists warned.

Cornflowers, corn marigolds, pheasant’s eye and, in some areas, poppies are becoming increasingly threatened species in the face of more intensive agriculture, plant charity Plantlife said.

The conservation group is urging farmers to help arable plants, which it says are the most threatened wildflowers, through simple steps such as providing strips of land at the edge of fields to allow the plants to germinate and grow.