Farming Today

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Farming Today: HS2 review, potato breeding, pesticide research and crops that are resilient to salt.

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HS2 review, potato breeding, pesticide research and crops that are resilient to salt.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, HS2 review, potato breeding, pesticide research and crops that are resilient to salt.

HS2 is being reviewed, so what next for farmers and landowners along the route?

Farmers and landowners along the proposed route of HS2 respond to the announcement of a review of the whole project.

The government's reviewing HS2 with a "go or no-go" decision expected by the end of the year. It's already cost seven billion pounds with 900 properties bought up and some already lying empty. The Country Land and Business Association says if the scheme is now scrapped, people should be compensated. 

Blight is the scourge of many potato growers. But at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, researchers are investigating whether wild potatoes from South America could help breeders create more resistant potato varieties.

Since scientists discovered a link between widely used neonicotinoids and the decline of bees and other pollinators, the pressure has been on to find an alternative solution. We hear from researchers at the University of Sheffield’s 'Institute for Sustainable Food' who are working on a bio-pesticide which would target only pest species and leave pollinators unharmed.

And after this summer, farmers on the Lincolnshire fens are only too aware of the threat of flooding after heavy rain. But some could also be threatened by flooding from the sea - if rising global temperatures lead to higher sea levels. We find out how scientists are trying to make crops more resilient to salt water.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe
Produced by Heather Simons

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HS2 review, potato breeding, pesticide research and crops that are resilient to salt.

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