A £2.5m (€2.9m), three-year project bringing the first precision-bred oilseed rape onto commercial farms in Europe has been launched. The project: ‘Light Leaf Spot Enhancing Resistance And reducing Susceptibility with Editing’ brings together farmers, plant breeders, crop scientists and agronomists to tackle light leaf spot, using precision breeding alongside new disease-management tools. Light leaf spot has become the number one disease threat to UK oilseed rape, with yield losses estimated to have risen from £94m in 2017 to more than £300m in 2022. “It will put precision-bred oilseed rape technology onto their farms for the first time across Europe. The approach is designed not only to bring the first precision-bred oilseed rape varieties to commercial farms but also to establish a pipeline for future traits.

Source: Irish Examiner February 04, 2026 16:03 UTC