Scoring and Assessing Cereal Diseases in Variety and Agrochemical Field Trials

Scoring and Assessing Cereal Diseases in Variety and Agrochemical Field Trials CP17 Field trial staff from commercial contract research organisations (CROs), seed companies, and agrochemical companies involved in disease assessments for cereal variety screening and product efficacy trials. None A one-day classroom-based course. CPD applied for Dr Aoife O' Driscoll, Senior Specialist - Crop Protection and IPM

Classroom module (half day)

• Identification of key diseases and abiotic stress symptoms of wheat, barley, oats and minor cereal crops with a focus on relevance to trials.
• Scoring Methodologies & Trial Relevance; Using different scales, incidence vs severity, and protocol-specific requirements.
• Data Quality & Sponsor Expectations; Avoiding common errors in trials, use of photos and metadata, importance of blinding and repeatability.

Field Practical: Calibration & Assessment (half day)

• On-plot scoring practice in variety and agrochemical trials. Identifying disease symptoms, calibrating scores, reducing inter-scorer bias.

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Recognise key cereal diseases across crop growth stages
• Apply standardised scoring methods consistently
• Understand sponsor protocol expectations and GEP requirements
• Be able to contribute high-quality, reproducible data for commercial trials