Plant health research and development plan - Hefei StarBridge Ventures Group Co.,Ltd

Updated 18 May 2023

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plant-health-research-and-development-plan-2023-to-2028/plant-health-research-and-development-plan

This plan sets out the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) plant health research and development needs and outlines our approach to delivering these over the next 5 years, from 2023 to 2028. It has been developed with stakeholders, including users and providers of plant health research and development, to provide a roadmap that communicates and shares our future priorities with others.

The terms ‘we’ and ‘our’ are referenced throughout this plan and in all instances, this refers to Defra.

This plan supports Defra's delivery of the plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028) published in January 2023, particularly outcome 4: An enhanced technical capability. It will also support delivery of Defra's tree health resilience strategy (2018), which is planned for refresh later in 2023.

The plan identifies and aims to deliver 4 plant health research and development strategic objectives. These strategic objectives aim to:

We have organised the plant health research and development needs into 6 research themes. Each theme is divided into focal areas with indicative research questions to help describe our current priorities:

Finally, the plan outlines our intended approach to deliver our strategic objectives through:

We then describe how we manage projects throughout the project cycle to provide the highest quality outputs and outcomes.

This plant health research and development plan summarises how Defra currently meets its plant health research and development needs and identifies our priorities for the future. In particular, this involves supporting the delivery of the plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028) and the successor to the tree health resilience strategy (2018). The plan expands on detail published in the Defra group research and innovation interests (2021). It will guide the commissioning of Defra's plant health research for the next 5 years, and the priorities of our research programmes and partnerships.

Some aspects of ongoing management of plant pests and diseases are led by other Defra teams, particularly those relating to crops and food production. We briefly describe how we work and co-ordinate with these wider activities in chapter 2.

The plan has been developed in collaboration with stakeholders including both users and providers of plant health knowledge and technology. In sharing our plans, we aim to clearly communicate and share our future priorities with others. Additionally, it is hoped that this roadmap will also inform the investment decisions of research funders and the priorities of researchers in order to leverage additional impact beyond that of the research Defra directly commissions.

Our plants and trees are vital natural capital. They have an estimated annual value of £15.7 billion per year, when we consider the economic, environmental, and social benefits they provide the UK. This includes the value of our agricultural crops and horticulture which are vital to food security, commercial forestry and the social, biodiversity and carbon sequestration value of plants throughout our landscapes. In 2021, around 21.5 million tonnes of plants and plant products, valued at £15.8 billion, were imported and exported between the UK and the rest of the world. However, pests and diseases pose an increasing risk to these natural capital assets and trade values. At a global level, the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that annually, up to 40% of crop production is lost to pests. Each year, plant diseases cost the global economy over $220 billion and invasive insects at least $70 billion. Increased plant biosecurity threats have been attributed to several factors, including climate change and the increase in global trade and travel, which provides more entry pathways for pests and diseases.

Since the publication of the first plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2014) the UK government has placed a high, and increasing, importance on protecting our plants from these risks using an evidence-based approach.

In 2023, Defra, together with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and Forestry Commission, published an updated plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028). This has a vision to ‘protect Great Britain's plants through a strong partnership of government, industry, and the public, working together to reduce and manage risks posed by plant pests and pathogens, and facilitate safe trade.’

Government will deliver this vision through 4 outcomes:

Defra's new environmental improvement plan (2023), and its predecessor, also recognise the need to enhance biosecurity to protect our wildlife and livestock and boost the resilience of our plants and trees. It is supported by the tree health resilience strategy (2018) which aims to build the resilience of England's trees, woods and forests to enhance the benefits trees provide, by mitigating and minimising the impact of pests and diseases and improving the capacity of trees to adapt to changing pressures.

Plant health risks are also recognised in the UK biological security strategy (due for a refresh in 2023) which provides the overarching strategic framework to protect the UK from significant naturally occurring, accidental, and deliberate biological threats and aims for the UK to be resilient to the full spectrum of biological threats. This fits with the UK government One Health approach which seeks to attain holistic health outcomes for people, animals, plants, and the environment.

The UK Plant Health Service (PHS) is comprised of Defra, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, Daera, and the Forestry Commission and supported by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The work of the UK PHS is set out in the UK plant health: provisional common framework and overseen by the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), and its subgroups, Plant Health Outbreak Readiness Board and Plant Health Risk Group. Meeting Defra's research and development needs is critical to the effectiveness of these operational structures. Further detail on this process is provided in the following chapter.

Furthermore, participation in international processes and bodies requires Defra to support evidence-based decision-making and the setting of rules and standards. For example, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement that governs international trade requires that any measures that are implemented should be based on scientific principles and should not be maintained without sufficient scientific evidence. Likewise, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), which is an international plant health treaty that aims to prevent the introduction and spread of pests, requires that phytosanitary measures introduced for quarantine pests and regulated non-quarantine pests shall be technically justified.

Defra invests in plant health research and development to deliver strategic objectives. These strategic objectives aim to:

These policy documents and our research and development strategic objectives form the basis for the 6 research themes:

These themes are described in detail in chapter 3.

Some of Defra's plant health research and development needs are met by scientists and analysts in the department. However, most needs are met by working with the national and international research community, users, stakeholders, and other funders to identify, support and deliver priority needs.

In response to these broad needs, we support a wide and interdisciplinary portfolio of activities that combine long-term strategic research with more applied, responsive approaches.

Since 2014, more than £34 million has been invested in Defra's plant health research and development programme. Ongoing investment is required to enhance our technical capability and remain abreast of changing threats and potential mitigations, ensuring we are prepared for the future. From April 2022 to March 2023, Defra invested £6 million and supported almost 100 research activities. These activities were led by 12 principal organisations, but involved many more research partners and stakeholder collaborations, including partnerships with organisations from 31 countries around the world.

Forest Research and Fera Science Ltd continue to provide critical plant health research capability to the government and led the largest number of projects in the 2022 to 2023 financial year, with other lead research providers including:

These lead research providers secured further research support from a much larger pool of research providers including universities, research organisations and non-governmental organisations as outlined in figure 1. Defra co-funded the Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme, helping to leverage approximately £13 million of UKRI funding towards plant health priorities. The programme distributes funds to organisations including the National Institute for Botany, Fera Science Ltd, James Hutton Institute, Forest Research, as well as multiple universities and further sub-contractors.

1. Forest Research – over £1,000,000 2. Met Office – between £100,000 and £999,999 3. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) – between £100,000 and £999,999 4. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew – between £100,000 and £999,999 5. Fera Science Ltd – between £100,000 and £999,999

6. National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) – between £10,000 and £49,999 7. UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) – between £100,000 and £999,999 8. James Hutton Institute – between £10,000 and £49,999 9. Rothamsted Research – between £10,000 and £49,999

10. Match funding for Bacterial Plant Disease Programme led by Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) – between £100,000 and £999,999 11. Supporting Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Treescapes Programme – between £50,000 and £99,999

12. Gloucestershire University – between £10,000 and £49,999 13. Cambridge University – between £10,000 and £49,999 14. Aberystwyth University – between £10,000 and £49,999 15. Exeter University – between £100,000 and £999,999 16. Warwick University – between £10,000 and £49,999 17. Bangor University – under £10,000 18. University of York – between £10,000 and £49,999 19. Birmingham University – between £50,000 and £99,999 20. University of Glasgow – between £10,000 and £49,999 21. University of Sheffield – between £10,000 and £49,999 22. Durham University – between £10,000 and £49,999 23. University of Strathclyde – between £10,000 and £49,999 24. Newcastle University – between £10,000 and £49,999 25. Queen Mary University – between £10,000 and £49,999 26. Salford University – between £10,000 and £49,999 27. Aberystwyth University – between £50,000 and £99,999 28. University of Reading – between £50,000 and £99,999 29. University of Southampton – between £100,000 and £999,999 30. University of St Andrews – between £100,000 and £999,999

31. Rezatec – between £10,000 and £49,999

32. Sylva Foundation – between £10,000 and £49,999 33. Tree Council – between £50,000 and £99,999 34. Plant Health Alliance – under £10,000 35. Woodland Heritage – between £10,000 and £49,999 36. Future Trees Trust – under £10,000 37. Woodland Trust – between £10,000 and £49,999 38. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) – between £100,000 and £999,999

Research activities are addressing a range of research requirements including risk and horizon scanning, developing new approaches to surveillance and diagnostics, modelling and managing pests and diseases, building resilient landscapes, understanding behaviours, and policy evaluation (figures 2 and 3). Just under half of the projects in the 2022 to 2023 financial year focused on a single pest or pathogen. Notable examples include Phytophthora, ash dieback, emerald ash borer, Xylella, sweet chestnut blight, and oak processionary moth. Around 21% of the projects were focused on multiple pests or pathogens, and 31% were not directly pest or pathogen related.

Figure 2: Number of active projects across research themes for the financial year 2022 to 2023, with 22 projects for theme 1: risk and horizon scanning, 27 projects for theme 2: inspections, diagnostics and surveillance, 19 projects for theme 3: management of pests and diseases, 15 projects for theme 4: resilience and adaptation, 6 projects for theme 5: plant health related behaviours, and 5 projects for theme 6: evaluation.

Figure 3: Proportion of spend across research themes for the financial year 2022 to 2023. Of the total spend, theme 1: risk assessment and horizon scanning made up 16%, theme 2: inspections, diagnostics and surveillance made up 13%, theme 3: management of pests and diseases made up 27%, theme 4: resilience and adaptation made up 24%, theme 5: plant health related behaviours made up 10%, and theme 6: evaluation made up 10%.

Future Proofing Plant Health (FPPH) was established in 2014 as a collaboration between Defra, Fera Science Ltd, Forest Research, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Natural England, to consolidate plant health research and development requirements delivered by Defra network organisations and encourage greater collaboration across the department's core science providers. Up to 20% of project funding is available to sub-contract external expertise to build networks and capability. Today, it provides almost £3 million of funding per annum to these core research providers and their third-party collaborators, with individual projects typically lasting up to 3 years and receiving funding up to £250,000. Some example projects are provided in case study 1 and case study 2.

Euphresco is an international network of organisations that fund plant health research projects. The overall goal is to support coordination and collaboration in the area of phytosanitary research, and to maintain a long-term network of research stakeholders. More than 70 organisations from over 50 countries are members of Euphresco. By working collaboratively and coordinating at national levels, countries can access specialist equipment, resources or expertise which means more progress can be made to reduce the effect of plant pests on the economy, the environment and the health of citizens of each country and also at the European and international level.

Defra has engaged with the Euphresco network since it was first established in 2006. In the financial year 2022 to 2023, Defra contributed more than £230,000 to UK research organisations leading or participating in work across 13 Euphresco research projects in 29 countries. For example, Fera Science Ltd are currently co-leading a project with Plant and Food Research, New Zealand to develop pre-emptive assessments of possible biological control agents for priority pests before they arrive. The project involves 17 partners in 12 countries and has developed a framework and considered biological control approaches for 12 pests.

The Centre for Forest Protection (CFP) was launched in May 2022 with a mission to enhance the resilience of the UK's forests, woodlands and trees and protect them from environmental and socioeconomic threats, through the provision of evidence, interdisciplinary research, expert advice and training.

The virtual centre is led by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Forest Research and brings together tree health expertise from across the UK and the rest of the world.

Between 2022 and 2025, Defra is contributing over £5 million to support 14 research projects, including 4 PhDs and 8 internships. Projects focus on novel approaches to tree health, and strongly encourage international collaboration. This funding is also supporting the development of a new MSc in Forest Protection and a suite of new professional and technical training modules. The CFP has its own website which will host a knowledge hub. Much of the research on tree and woodland resilience is led through the CFP, in particular studies combining genomic and other approaches to understand the possibilities for treescapes which are more tolerant to pests and diseases, such as ash dieback, Dutch elm disease, and acute oak decline.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body which brings together the 7 disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. UKRI invests in basic, strategic and applied innovation and research, including long term programmes of strategic research. Whenever possible Defra works with UKRI to meet our shared objectives. For example, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Defra and the Scottish Government recently co-funded the £19 million Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme. The first phase was the £5 million BRIGIT research project to understand potential transmission routes of Xylella. The second phase comprises 8 projects which address a range of threats to crops and trees from bacterial plant pathogens. Similarly, the NERC Future of UK Treescapes Programme began in 2021 and provides £14.5 million for projects, fellowships and knowledge exchange activities to inform decision making on the expansion and resilience of current and future treescapes. It is co-funded by Defra, Welsh and Scottish Governments, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Figure 4: Researcher capturing and identifying spittlebugs for the BRIGIT research project (source: John Innes Centre).

The International Plant Sentinel Network (IPSN) was established in 2013 as a collaboration between botanic gardens and arboreta and plant health scientists around the world. IPSN is coordinated by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), with currently more than 80 participating gardens from over 20 nations. Defra plant health's support of the IPSN seeks to aid our international surveillance, gathering evidence to fill gaps in knowledge about new and emerging plant pests and pathogens. For example, monitoring the spread of emerald ash borer in Eastern Europe. IPSN also seeks to improve capability and capacity building, offering scientific training and resources in support of plant health.

Defra have invested in the Living Ash Project, a 5 year collaborative partnership between the Future Trees Trust, Forest Research, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Fera Ltd running until 2024. The Living Ash Project is identifying trees with a high degree of tolerance to ash dieback, collecting graft wood from them, and planting them out in a national archive on the public forest estate for further research. The Future Trees Trust and Forest Research are working with Kew to screen trees and investigate techniques to successfully take cuttings of ash in order to avoid the need for grafting. The team is also working with Fera Science Ltd to investigate the chemical component of the trees and identify the molecules associated with tolerance.

The Action Oak partnership was launched in 2018 to lead vital work and research to protect our native oak trees and safeguard their future. Currently there are over 30 different organisations involved in Action Oak, and it has supported the funding of 11 PhDs. The steering committee is comprised of:

The partnership is designed to be collaborative, innovative and committed to research. It encourages knowledge exchange and shares findings with practitioners, raises public awareness and appreciation of our native oaks and the important role they play in our landscape.

Observatree is a collaborative approach to increase tree health monitoring and reporting and support the work of plant health professionals. Led by Forest Research, Observatree brings together the skills and experience of the Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry, Welsh Government, Defra, APHA, Fera Science Ltd, The National Trust, and the Woodland Trust. Observatree volunteers form a UK network of over 200 citizen scientists who undertake a range of surveys to assist with spotting new tree pests and diseases and monitoring the spread of those that already exist. Volunteers are supported by a range of high quality and accessible training resources that focus on the identification and reporting of priority pests and diseases of highest concern.

The UK Plant Health Evidence Co-ordination Group is a core component of the UK Plant Health Service (PHS) and co-ordinates research activities to inform official risk assessment, outbreak response, and surveillance strategies. The group is jointly chaired with the devolved administrations and aims to join-up on evidence needs and delivery across the governance framework (figure 5). The Plant Health Evidence Coordination Group considers how best to deliver against these evidence needs in a coordinated fashion by sharing research requirements and outputs with the plant health outbreak evidence groups (who then deliver through the incident management teams), the plant health research and development programmes in Defra, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and the external evidence programmes, for example, UKRI and Forestry Commission's Science and Innovation Strategy for British Forestry (SIS). Input is provided from lead government departments and incident management teams.

Please refer to annex 3 of the provisional UK common framework on plant health for a complete overview of the UK Plant Health Governance Structure.

Figure 5: Simplified representation of how the Plant Health Evidence Coordination Group brings together the evidence needs from the Plant Health Outbreak Readiness Board and Plant Health Risk Group, all within the UK National Plant Protection Organisation.

Additionally, Defra maintains ongoing, informal discussion with research commissioned in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, such as that led by the Scottish Plant Health Centre.

Tree health research is also a priority theme of the science and innovation strategy for forestry in Great Britain. Its delivery is led by Forest Research and is co-ordinated by the 3 nations under devolution agreements and governance mechanisms which Defra participate in.

Within Defra, the Plant Health Evidence and Analysis Team co-ordinates plant health research and development activities with other evidence teams and with oversight of the Defra Central Science Team. There is close liaison with teams working on forestry, animal health, farming, horticulture, pesticides and invasive non-native species to ensure that research commissioning complements, rather than duplicates, activities. For example, research on managing non-regulated pests and diseases of crops is covered by Defra farming science and pesticides teams with whom integrated pest management is a joint priority. Adaptation of trees, forests and woodlands to biotic and abiotic threats is a joint priority with Defra's Forestry Team. We also work closely with other plant health research customers such as Forestry Commission.

Our research programme is also co-ordinated with other government-funded plant heath research activities, including UKRI through the UK partnership for animal and plant health and bilateral discussions. Significant amounts of plant health research are supported by others. UKRI supports basic, strategic and applied innovation and research as set out in UKRI's strategy (2022 to 2027), with a focus on its 6 strategic themes. BBSRC provides strategic support, which includes development of facilities and research infrastructure, for several research centres, including the John Innes Centre, Rothamstead Research, Earlham Institute and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science. In addition, the Plant Health Institute Strategic Programme is a cross institute programme between the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, which focuses on research to understand the mechanisms of infection of plants by pathogens, knowledge which is being used to drive the development of crops more resistant to disease. A significant amount of basic research is also carried out by the wider academic community, especially in universities.

In addition, research and development activities are delivered by a wide range of public, commercial and not-for-profit providers to meet their own plant health needs. Expertise ranges across the forestry, horticulture, agriculture and environmental sectors. Examples include Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS), the Royal Horticultural Society, the Tree Council and the Woodland Trust. We engage closely with these groups, for example via our Tree Health Policy Group and our Plant Health Advisory Forum. A simplified map of this wider plant health research landscape is provided in figure 6.

Figure 6: Simplified plant health research system map.

This chapter outlines the future research required to support delivery of Defra's policy objectives and statutory responsibilities. 6 linked research themes are proposed. For each theme high-level needs are described followed by more specific areas of focus. The indicative research questions are not prescriptive as evidence needs will change over time, but they provide a guide to the currently identified knowledge or tool gaps. These evidence needs will be further prioritised and refined for specific research commissioning calls moving forward. This section explores the indicative research questions for each area of focus within the 6 research themes.

Risk and horizon scanning activities help to ensure better preparation for the potential arrival of pests and pathogens, and inform the development of our regulatory regime, particularly the establishment of phytosanitary measures.

Supported by the UK Plant Health Risk Group (PHRG), Defra's own analysts appraise and monitor threats of individual pests and diseases using the UK Plant Health Risk Register. However, further research approaches are required to understand pest and pathogen biology, risk factors and pathways, climatic modelling, and host vulnerability to allow us to better understand likely impacts and behaviours of known pests and novel threats and to prepare for them.

Theme 1 indicative research questions categorised by the high-level needs that they address:

The cost of eradicating plant pests and diseases after they have entered the country is far greater than the costs of preventing them. Therefore, our regulatory regime prohibits or controls the imports of high-risk plants, other planting material, plant products, wood and wood products. Import inspections help to confirm compliance and provide intelligence on possible new and emerging issues. To ensure the most efficient and effective approaches requires the development and validation of detection and diagnostic methods and use of modelling to optimise sampling.

While border checks are important, pests and diseases may be hard to detect or latent when materials cross the border. Furthermore, some pests and diseases can arrive independently, for example by air. The regime therefore also includes inspections at nursery sites and wider surveillance in urban and rural environments, including ariel surveillance and citizen science. Again, research can optimise and enhance these activities, particularly through the development and deployment of innovation and new technologies.

New approaches to modelling the distribution and spread of newly emerging and existing pests and pathogens in the UK is also a priority need.

Theme 2 indicative research questions categorised by the high-level needs that they address:

Figure 7: Researchers assessing for Ips species in the field (source: Forest Research)

The Plant Health Outbreak Readiness Board (PHORB) oversees development of both generic and pest specific contingency plans to ensure rapid and effective responses in the event of an outbreak, including both legislation and advice for industry and landowners. Research can facilitate the development of appropriate treatments or management strategies to eradicate or reduce risk and allow recovery. This should include integrated pest and disease management, nature-based solutions such as biological control, guidance and toolkits for landowners, and data management tools.

Theme 3 indicative research questions categorised by the high-level needs that they address:

Resilience and adaptation are key to the long term health and sustainability of our ecosystems under increased pressure from pests and diseases. Research can help in improving the diversity, health, condition and connectivity of plants and ecosystems to enhance resilience against pests and diseases. Research will also help us to improve our understanding plant genetic variation and the genetic basis for plant tolerance to pests and diseases.

Theme 4 indicative research questions categorised by the high-level needs that they address:

Understanding what motivates and constrains individuals and groups to achieve positive plant health outcomes and good biosecurity. Overcoming the knowledge to action gap and improving our knowledge of the economic, environmental, and social and cultural values of healthy plants.

Theme 5 indicative research questions categorised by the high-level needs that they address:

Developing evaluation frameworks, indicators and metrics to help us measure the effects of our plant health policies, programmes and projects.

Theme 6 indicative research questions categorised by the high-level needs that they address:

Since ash dieback was discovered in Britain in 2012, Defra has funded research to understand genetic resistance to the ash dieback fungus, and to collect trees displaying a degree of resistance into a living archive for a potential future breeding programme. Recent work has included Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Future Trees Trust, Forest Research, and Fera Science Ltd as partners, while earlier work involved co-funding of BBRSC and NERC grants to institutions including: the Earlham Institute, Queen Mary University of London, University of Oxford and the John Innes Centre.

The genetic research has resulted in the sequenced genome of ash trees[footnote 1], the genome sequence of the fungus[footnote 2], the identification of locations in the ash tree genome thought to be associated with resistance to the fungus[footnote 3] and further data on how many ash trees might die[footnote 4]. This new understanding is informing exploration of strategies for retention of ash in UK landscapes. Defra has also consulted British publics and stakeholders on the acceptability of different genetic solutions to tree epidemics[footnote 5].

This body of research on ash has developed innovative ways of using new genomics technologies and analyses for tree health issues, which are now being deployed for other tree species through the Centre for Forest Protection. The UK now has world class plant health capability in the area of tree pathogen resistance genomics.

Concurrently, the Ash Archive has been developed through the Living Ash Project, which has conducted the world's largest screening trials for resistant trees and has planted over 3,000 trees of 1,000 genotypes in the archive. They have been drawn from a wide geographic spread, and new trees will continue to be added, to maximise the genetic diversity in the collection and facilitate the possibility of a future breeding programme of resistant ash.

Together, this research aligns with our strategic objectives on enhancing understanding of plant health issues, developing and deploying innovation and new technologies, and providing world class plant health research capability.

Chapter 1 outlined our strategic research objectives, which are to:

This chapter outlines how Defra's plant health research programme will be developed, to deliver our strategic objectives.

Defra will continue to participate and proactively engage in the research collaborations outlined in chapter 2 to deliver our strategic objectives and optimise the outcomes of our research.

Collaboration and co-ordination with other funders will also continue to ensure complementarity in approaches and best use of resource to meet our shared objectives. Shared areas of interest have already been identified with UKRI and these will be developed into tangible new co-funded research activities as part of delivery of this research plan. Novel approaches to co-funding research will be pursued, for example supporting a new post to leverage further funding for Action Oak.

Collaboration between plant health researchers both at home and internationally will be facilitated through ongoing support to networks such as Action Oak, FPPH, and Euphresco. This will provide access to world class research infrastructure, expertise and resources and ensure researchers learn from one another. This ambition will be particularly supported through the Centre for Forest Protection, which has a vision to become a global hub and already brings together the facilities and expertise of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Forest Research with partners such as BiFor and INRAE-BETA France. Where appropriate, and of significant benefit, Defra may also support UK researchers to participate in EU-funded research networks.

Co-design of research projects and knowledge exchange throughout project lifetimes is vital to ensure problems are fully understood and appropriate solutions are developed, shared, and implemented to provide maximum effect.

At a programme level, we will consult policy teams and delivery agencies throughout the project cycle to ensure research calls meet their needs. Defra will support knowledge exchange events such as the FPPH project seminar series and an annual FPPH research meeting. A plant health research event will be delivered in 2023 in order to bring together research providers and research users to discuss plant health needs. Furthermore, a new dedicated area on the Plant Health Portal will be developed to better share research outputs from Defra-funded activities. The Centre for Forest Protection will be supported to develop its online Knowledge Hub and translation of research findings into education and training materials.

Defra-funded research projects will continue to be required to demonstrate appropriate co-design, learning from flagship projects such as the oak processionary moth (OPM) project outlined in case study 2. All research projects will require a knowledge transfer and exchange plan. Projects are required to provide a final report to Defra for publication, but they are also strongly encouraged to present research findings to relevant stakeholders and publish peer reviewed academic literature.

Figure 8: Oak processionary moth (OPM) (source: The Tree Council)

Putting innovation at the heart of our approach and investing in world-class knowledge, products and technologies will not only help to protect plant health but also drive scientific growth and create skilled jobs for our sector.

Through our interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches, opportunities to make use of cutting-edge science and emerging technologies can be identified and applied to plant health challenges. For example, advances in genomics have revolutionised plant health science. DNA diagnostics are rapidly advancing, with the ability to quickly detect pathogens in different media and understand the epidemiology of pest and disease outbreaks. However, challenges and opportunities remain to embed such technologies within our biosecurity regime. Defra will continue to work with research partners to drive improvements in such innovations, and to assess the feasibility of their application in a routine operational context. Our research must not just develop new technologies but also validate, quality-assure and optimise technologies to ensure they are effective and provide good value for money.

There are barriers to the adoption of new technologies in our plant health regime and industries and we will work to actively understand and address these. For example, plant growers can lack the skills or financial security to take risks with new technology and have indicated they require support via pilot and demonstration projects. We will scope and aim to launch an Innovation Fund to understand and overcome some of these challenges and barriers to the market.

All the ambitions outlined in this plan are founded on an assumption that there is a thriving community of skilled plant health researchers and well-resourced research centres available to support research needs. However, previous reports have noted the need to develop plant health skills and creation of a wider community of trained plant health professionals, and this need remains. Therefore, a fundamental part of Defra's plant health research and development plan is ensuring a skills pipeline and training the next generation of plant health researchers.

The research projects that Defra commission provide important opportunities for researchers at all levels to further their work. In addition, we will actively support specific interventions to develop scientific capability. In the financial year 2022 to 2023, Defra provided funding support to 14 PhDs with topics ranging from potential effects of Xylella on native trees, to modelling plant trade networks and their effects on plant diseases. Defra will continue to support students, for example by working with UKRI and others to support doctoral training partnerships. In the financial year 2023 to 2024 Defra is also supporting NERC Future Treescapes Fellowships, and a Plant Health Future Leader Fellowship at Kew.

Training programmes, apprenticeships, and internships are also important to build wider plant health skills. In the financial year 2022 to 2023 Defra funded 8 interns at Kew and Forest Research through the Centre for Forest Protection and hope to repeat this scheme in future years. The Centre will also launch both a new master of sciences in Forest Protection and professional training options by 2025.

Defra also supports core plant health science capability in government, for example, through investment in new capital equipment and infrastructure projects such as the Forest Research Holt Laboratory.

Defra recognises the high value of long-term collections, including diagnostic collections at Fera Science Ltd, entomology and pathology collections at Forest Research, and the vast collections at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and where appropriate contributes to the maintenance and use of long-term study sites.

This project, which is led by Fera Science Ltd and Forest Research, funded through Defra's Future Proofing Plant Health programme, aims to develop and test control methods for oak processionary moth (OPM) which could provide alternatives to standard chemical treatment. The project has adopted a strong co-design approach, working with stakeholders to ensure the alternative strategies are appropriate and acceptable for implementation in the field. Engaging stakeholders in experimental design created opportunities from the start to develop OPM control options that meet the needs of those who manage OPM and that are sensitive to the different contexts and risks where OPM is present. These have included nature-based solutions, the use of pheromones to disrupt mating behaviour, and biopesticides which may provide more targeted control which is less harmful to non-target organisms than currently used methods. Working groups with strong participation from end-users and stakeholders support the ongoing research, enabling effective knowledge sharing and increasing the likelihood of uptake and deployment of the various methods under investigation. The project has also been linking to similar projects in Europe, with the aim of sharing results to enhance protection against this pest in all the participating countries.

Alongside this project, Defra is supporting 2 PhDs to investigate further options and build skills capability in this area. The first, based at Newcastle University, has been investigating parasitism of OPM caterpillars by Carcelia iliaca which affects OPM eggs, larvae and pupae. The PhD student is developing a robust Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for testing parasitism as well as mapping the distribution of C.iliaca and its implications for management decisions. The second PhD student, based at Fera Science Ltd, is aiming to develop selective biopesticides for use against a range of moth pests to help reduce use of chemical pesticides whilst not increasing the effects on non-target species in oak trees.

A range of commissioning and procurement approaches will continue to be used to enable us to work with as wide a range of research providers as possible, whilst meeting our needs for timely delivery of projects.

Research specifications will be developed as required to meet specific needs and these will be delivered via direct awards or open tender competitions as appropriate. The new Defra research development and evidence procurement framework is particularly useful in this regard and will be an important means for future research procurement. We will also continue to use Defra's animal and plant health modelling framework and Defra's strategic relationship with Fera Science Ltd, as a joint venture body, for the delivery of applied and responsive research and development services. The animal and plant health modelling framework allows Defra to commission modelling from plant health experts in the event of an outbreak or to assess pest management strategies and risk levels. Organisations currently on the modelling framework include Cambridge University, Newcastle University, Fera Science Ltd, Met Office and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Formal partnerships between governmental organisations based on memoranda of understanding (MOU), that provide support to research partnerships, such as the FPPH partnership and the CFP, will continue to be developed and used when appropriate. We also have a specific project led by the Met Office focused on developing and validating microclimate models for estimating pest risk using the UK climate-pest risk web tool and assessing the risk posed by forestry pests and pathogens under current and future projected climates, to be delivered via a MOU.

Approaches to deliver collaborations with other research funders to leverage maximum value for limited funds and avoid duplication of effort, will be developed, in particular with UKRI.

Defra has a comprehensive internal and external review process in place to ensure the highest quality of research is commissioned, delivered, and published, providing evidence that is relevant, reliable and clear.

Different approaches are taken with individual programmes such as FPPH, Euphresco and CFP. However, project proposals across all programmes are moderated and reviewed by an experienced and multidisciplinary panel to ensure projects can produce required research to the appropriate standards and provide value for money.

Each research project is assigned a lead Defra Project Officer who will meet at least quarterly with the lead researcher to discuss progress with the work. This time allows for monitoring of progress against milestones, issue resolution, and regular discussion of research direction and opportunities to optimise knowledge exchange and the project's wider effects. At the end of each project, the outputs and outcomes of projects are reviewed via a project appraisal document process and further opportunities are considered to ensure project outputs are shared with relevant research users and the wider research community.

Where we co-fund programmes, we will maintain oversight by actively engaging in the partnership. This could include membership of steering committees, via programme reporting mechanisms and direct contact with research teams.

All Defra-funded project publications go through internal review process, with systems available to draw on external expert reviewers where additional assurance is felt beneficial or required in line with Defra guidance on high-value contacts. In addition to journal publications and other outputs of projects, all project reports are made publicly available via the Defra Science publication database.

Figure 9: Detection of Ips typographus carried out by Forest Research (source: Forest Research)

Ongoing monitoring and evaluation is vital to assess Defra's progress against the objectives and commitments set out in this plan, and to track, measure, and learn from its delivery. Evidence of success will support future funding bids, particularly via comprehensive spending reviews. The theory of change, presented in annex 2, summarises the intended route to achieving Defra's intended outcomes and impacts of this plan.

The theory of change identifies outputs, outcomes, and impacts that this plan will support. It is important to note that these impacts are driven by a broad set of actions and actors implicated by the wider plant health ‘system’, not just those implicated by the plant health research and development plan. As such, evaluation of these impacts will be carried out as part of the plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028) and the tree health resilience strategy (2018). The role of the plant health research and development plan evaluation is to capture the contribution made by a set of defined research and development outputs and outcomes to that broader set of strategic objectives.

Annual monitoring of delivery of expected outputs from this research and development plan will be carried out using quantitative key performance indicators (KPIs), starting in the financial year 2023 to 2024, and where possible comparing to earlier baselines.

In addition, we will collaborate with our research providers to develop case studies and qualitative examples to illustrate and evaluate progress towards the outcomes described in our theory of change and assess whether and how the 4 plant health research approaches are supporting their delivery. Projects to be used as case studies will be identified at inception stage to follow and record how approaches unfold from the project start so that we can learn what's working and not working over the course of a given project's development. The resulting case studies will therefore include both projects which have excelled and those that may not have delivered all the benefits that were expected, with a focus on identifying inflection points that had critical effect on delivery of outcomes and impacts. In addition, projects which are identified as exemplars (or failures) of our research approaches at the mid or end of project stage may also be developed into case studies as appropriate. We will share these case studies with our research providers and research users to enable further development of our approaches.

CFP: Horizon scanning for tree health – an innovative horizon scanning approach to identify emerging threats to UK non-native forestry trees and guide preventative measures.

CFP: Predicting risk to non-native trees species from potential threats in the UK – assesses the likely susceptibility of non-native tree species to native pests and pathogens, based on the evolutionary distances between native plant species and potential non-native hosts.

FPPH: Investigation on potential susceptible hosts for Phytophthora pluvialis in forests, wider environment and horticulture – generating lists of susceptible host British plant species to P. pluvialis.

FPPH: Risk from Phytophthora pluvialis and its potential for long term persistence in affected forests – evaluating the extent to which the disease penetrates sapwood and whether the timber trade could be a vector. Also testing the long-term potential for survival if no host tree species are present.

FPPH: Assessing and mitigating the risks associated with wild collected seeds – uses biological screening and high-throughput sequencing of wild collected seeds to understand the associated microbial community and mitigate the risks associated with any pests which may be detected.

CFP: Abiotic predisposing factors for pests and diseases spatial risk modelling – performing spatial modelling to identify environmental predisposition to 3 significant tree disease epidemics in the UK.

Met Office modelling project – collaborative project creating a visual day degree model and aid for mapping scenarios such as egg hatch or flight times of significant pests.

BGCI-led International Plant Sentinel Network – using international partnerships, the IPSN improves the long-term ability to prevent the arrival of new pests through early detection and effective impact management.

FPPH: Colonisation of tree hosts by Xylella fastidiosa and comparison of assays for pathogen detection – assesses the susceptibility of important UK tree species to 3 subspecies of X. fastidiosa.

FPPH: The resistance of UK treescapes to emerald ash borer – develops an understanding of resistance of UK ash treescapes to emerald ash borer feeding and development.

Euphresco: Range expansion of bark beetles in the genus Ips – investigating the range expansion of Ips spp. and consolidating factors into a risk matrix.

FPPH: Assessing the risk to plant health in the UK from future Agrilus invasions – a PhD student project investigating what are the greatest risks that Agrilus spp. present the UK.

FPPH: Modelling plant trade networks and their response to plant diseases – a funded PhD mapping out trade networks and using bioeconomics and data modelling to develop a framework of the risks in the plant trade.

Eupresco: Seed borne pests and pathogens of conifers.

FPPH: Identifying and mitigating future Phytophthora risks to the UK – uses cross-sectoral and international community data to explore factors that drive Phytophthora spread, how the UK climate will influence emerging Phytophthora species, and test whether detection and surveillance capacity can be enhanced through innovative metabarcoding systems.

FPPH: Risks associated with Phytophthora in peat-free growing media in the UK – a project investigating potential sources of Phytophthora spp. in peat-free growing medias available commercially.

FPPH: Adaptation of novel COVID test methodology for rapid testing for tree pathogens – applies a revolutionary technology initially developed to detect COVID-19, to demonstrate that the method can be used to detect a range of microbial pathogens that cause disease in trees.

Euphresco: Development and validation of rapid and sensitive techniques for cost-effective diagnostics of plant pests – improving validated molecular methodologies for extracting viruses from host tissues.

FPPH: NepoDetect Direct Detection of Plant Viruses from Vector Nematodes – a project looking to reduce processing times by detecting viruses directly from nematodes rather than needing to infect plants with the nematode sp.

FPPH: Rapid diagnosis of Phytophthora species using newly developed molecular-based technologies – demonstrates new ways to detect for Phytophthora species in the field and differentiate between Phytophthora species in the laboratory.

FPPH: Identification of Xanthomonas diseases of ornamentals – investigating and sequencing multiple Xanthomonas sp. and isolates of interest to plant health.

FPPH: Tree ring metabolites as a novel detection method for plant pathogens – applies metabolite profiling techniques to quantify the period of pathogen infection.

FPPH: Valitest survey (ongoing outbreaks) planning tool – compares APHA survey processes and database requirements to those of Forestry Commission requirements in a gap analysis.

FPPH: Potential for high throughput sequencing to upscale testing of import interception samples – applies high throughput sequencing to upscale testing of important interception samples for high-risk pest and diseases.

Rezatec project. FPPH: Detection of Cryphonectria parasitica, inoculum level on infected sites using spore trapping methods – applies spore trapping methods to detect Cryphonectria parasitica inoculum levels on infected sites.

FPPH: Applying remote sensing for virus assessment of crops at a field scale – assesses the efficacy of remote sensing for field scale crop surveillance for a number of crops with a range of virus content.

FPPH: Rolling circle amplification for the detection of DNA viruses – determination of the best method to detect DNA viruses.

Euphresco: The insect vectors of Xylella fastidiosa – investigating what insects are able to transmit Xylella from one host species to another.

FPPH: A new approach to quantify the sensitivity and specificity of citizen scientists in tree health surveillance – a project developing a new methodology for quantifying the sensitivity and specificity of citizen scientists that could be used for any pest or disease species.

Euphresco: Development of a rapid molecular diagnostic tool to assess parasitism rates of highly invasive oak processionary moths for integrated pest management.

FPPH: Development of a phenological model of Ips typographus for the UK, to understand the number of generations that are possible in different regions of the country under different current and future climate predictions.

FPPH: IpsShift modelling Ips range expansion, potential damage and control with RangeShiftR in Britain – applies an R package ‘RangeShiftR’ to model European spruce bark beetle range expansion, potential damage, and control within the UK.

FPPH: Biological control of oriental chestnut gall wasp (OCGW) – releases and monitors the parasitoid Torymus sinensis for the biological control of OCGW.

FPPH: Susceptibility of Sitka spruce to Ips typographus – applies new methods of detecting and quantifying Ips typographus from spruce samples collected from several locations across England.

Euphresco: Countering quarantine viruses and viroids through cleaning and disinfection.

FPPH: Preparing for emerald ash borer – preparing biological and chemical control methods for potential use in the event of emerald ash borer being introduced.

FPPH: PhD: Modelling development of emerald ash borer in Britain – modelling how the life development of emerald ash borer would progress under UK conditions.

FPPH: Understanding the significance and impacts of different races of Dothistroma septosporum on native and exotic forest species in Britain – testing if there are observable virulence differences between races of Dothistroma and if there is evidence of host specialisation and expression.

FPPH: Impacts of Dothistroma mycovirus on pathogen behaviour and pathogenicity to commercially and ecological important forest tree species – assessing the effects of the mycovirus on virulence of Dothistroma, does it affect the expression of toxin producing genes and does this affect susceptibility?

FPPH: Evaluating the implementation and impact of tools to support the new oak processionary moth (OPM) RBA policy – the new OPM policy which involves a significant reduction in the spraying programme. It comes into force in 2022, this project aims to evaluate the impacts on management decision making and actions.

FPPH: Enhancing management strategies to increase ash resilience – explores what factors are significant in the development of ash dieback disease in woodlands and hedgerows to improve management strategies and increase ash resistance.

FPPH: Phase 2 molecular ecology of Ips typographus extension – establishing baseline genetic datasets, testing of genetic variation amongst new UK material and development of less complex methodologies for routine inspection.

FPPH: Alternative control methods for oak processionary moth (OPM) – testing alternative management strategies for OPM including mating disruption, biopesticides and natural control.

FPPH: Biological control of the oriental chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) – releases and monitors the parasitoid Torymus sinensis for the biological control of oriental chestnut gall wasp.

Euphresco: Preparedness in biological control of priority pests – establishing a biological control network to share knowledge and information on priority biosecurity threats to increase preparedness.

CFP: Restoration of ‘lost’ tree species and cultural connections – explores the cultural heritage and restoration approaches for ‘lost’ tree species and the impact of species loss.

CFP: Genetic basis of silver birch adaptation to local environments and disease – assesses the genetic basis of silver birch to understand their adaptive trajectories in response to local environment and disease.

CFP: Transforming ash genomics: a pan-genome resource for improved understanding of ash dieback resistance – constructs a pan-genome resource to deepen our understanding of the genetic basis of ash dieback resistance in UK ash trees.

FPPH: Understanding the genetic basis for resilience in Juniperus communis to the invasive pathogen Phytophthora austrocedri – explores the genetic basis for resilience in the naïve conifer species Juniperus communis to the invasive pathogen Phytophthora austrocedri.

CFP: Dothistroma needle blight resilience into the Scots pine breeding population – applies quantitative genetic analysis to explore and improve Dothistroma needle blight resilience into the Scots pine breeding population.

CFP: Distribution and diversity of existing UK elms – collecting and reviewing existing data on resistant elm cultivars and surveying genomic diversity of extant UK elms.

CFP: Evaluating genetic bottlenecks in planted and naturally colonised young woodlands – comparing tree health and genetic diversity in plant and natural young woodland. Recommending optimisation activities to help meet UK net zero.

FPPH: Root-associated fungi and tree health – testing the presence and composition of fungal pathogens in the roots of oak spruce and beech in the UK and 19 European countries.

CFP: Restoration of ‘lost’ tree species and cultural connections – explores the cultural heritage and restoration approaches for ‘lost’ tree species and the impact of species loss.

Shared outcomes fund: Planting tees outside woods – working with Tree Council, Natural England and a range of local authorities to test approaches to increase planting of trees outside woods.

Living ash project – collaboration between Future Trees Trust and Forest Research, to identify and manage collections of trees which may form the basis of a breeding programme for ash trees with tolerance to ash dieback.

Tree production innovation fund – funded via the Nature for Climate Fund and delivered by Forestry Commission, supports innovation to enhance quality, quantity and diversity of trees produced for tree planting.

FPPH: National conversation: toward a resilience culture – identifying structural behaviours to plant health at different social scales.

FPPH: Overcoming knowledge to action gap – building on scoping work focused on knowledge networks associated with 3 case studies on ash dieback, Ips typographus and small nursery businesses. Looking for solution spaces for knowledge translation and dissemination.

FPPH: Mind the biosecurity gap – addressing the gaps and barriers to plant health training.

FPPH: Mobilising stewardship science to improve woodland resilience – working with the myForest (mF) platform developers and Forest Research's researchers to assess how best to establish a community of stewardship scientists (S-Scientists) through a mF Lab and its potential to provide an essential information exchange.

FPPH: Social and cultural values of trees and woods at risk from pests and diseases – a rapid evidence review of social and cultural values related to pest and disease management contexts.

FPPH: Scoping biosecurity costs to future proof tree-planting in biodiversity and climate change projects – investigating the need and wants for biosecurity and whether they are currently covered.

FPPH: Future farming tree health pilot evaluation – evaluating and refining through co-design the various elements needed to elicit the required actions to meet objectives of protecting treescapes and restocking for resilience.

FPPH: Tree Health Resilience Strategy environmental goals indicator development and assessment of data integration - developing data products to monitor delivery of the environment goals in the tree health resilience strategy (2018).

FPPH: Evaluating the implementation and impact of tools to support the new oak processionary moth Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) policy – the new oak processionary moth policy involves a significant reduction in the spraying programme – comes into force in 2022, this project aims to evaluate the impacts on management decision making and actions.

Evaluating the tree health resilience strategy – evaluating the delivery of the tree health resilience strategy (2018).

This theory of change summarises how Defra's strategic objectives inform our research activities and approaches (figure 10). These research activities generate outputs which then deliver our intended outcomes and impacts.

Figure 10: Simplified theory of change diagram.

Our strategic objectives are to:

We commission and manage research activities across 6 research themes:

The research approaches we apply when directing research activities are:

Our intended outputs include:

The outcomes we intend create include:

Our intended impacts are:

Sollars et al. (2017) Genome sequence and genetic diversity of European ash trees. Nature 541: 212-216.↩

McMullan et al. (2018) The ash dieback invasion of Europe was founded by two genetically divergent individuals. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2: 1000-1008.↩

Stocks et al. (2019) Genomic basis of European ash tree resistance to ash dieback fungus. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 1686-1696.↩

Coker et al. (2019) Estimating mortality rates of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) under the ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) epidemic. Plants, People, Planet 1: 48-58.↩

Jepson & Arakelyan (2017). Developing publicly acceptable tree health policy: public perceptions of tree-breeding solutions to ash dieback among interested publics in the UK. Forest Policy and Economics, 80, 167-177.↩