Crop Protection Science
This is a photograph of Rothamsted Manor in Hertfordshire. This was the home of John Bennet Lawes who set up the first agricultural research station in the world and established the scientific foundations on which plant nutrition is based and led him to produce the first fertilizers. In the 20th Century it was at the forefront of agricultural statistics and the analysis of long term data by R. A. Fisher and the development of the first synthetic insecticides by Michael Elliott. I worked there as a nematologist between 1986 and 2012 investigating the biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes as an alternative to nematicides.
“We stand now where two roads diverge… The road we have long been travelling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster.”
Rachel Carson
Due to the predicted effects of climate change and the increasing constraints on plant productivity caused by crop pathogens, pests and weeds, K G Davies Limited is a business designed to act as a catalyst between the public sector, the private sector and non-governmental sectors (eg. NGOs, educational institutions and charities) to take an integrated approach to the pipeline between fundamental academic research, applied pre-commercial research, extension services and growers. Focusing on the role of nematodes and their effects on plant root health, the company provides intellectual capital and expertise in the areas of research and development, project management, consultancy and training. Keith G Davies also has close ties to the University of Hertfordshire where he is an Associate Professor.
