Specialist Facilities

The Nematology Research Group has access to a full range of specialised facilities at Harper Adams.

Field

Field experimentation is supported by the facilities and staff at CERC. Harper Adams is one of the few organisations remaining in the UK that has the capability for field-scale nematology.

Laboratory

The Nematology Laboratory contains the necessary equipment to extract and quantify nematodes and other invertebrates from soil and plant material.

The Diagnostics Laboratory has electrophoresis and thermal cycling (PCR) equipment to enable nematodes and insects to be identified and quntified using biochemical techniques.

The Main Laboratory complex houses a range of analytical equipment including HPLC and GC.

Glasshouse

Harper Adams has a range of glasshouse and polytunnel facilities for experimental work.

Pest Rearing

Facilities are in place to rear populations of nematodes, insect and moluscan for use in experimental programmes. Of particular note is the purpose built wirewormery established to provide a ready supply of several populations of wireworms.

• Wirewormery information sheet

Engineering

The engineering workshops provide backup for field equipment and of particular note is the 1800m² Soil Hall. This unique facility enables field scale operations to occur without the influence of weather and has been used extensively in our development work on granular nematicides. It is also used for training couses in nematicide calibration and application.