Dr Matt Ordidge

Currently, I have taken on the role of Scientific Curator for the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale. As part of a project funded by Defra, the University is responsible for maintaining and curating the collection along with our project partners the Farm Advisory Services Team (FAST). The National Fruit Collection contains over 3,500 named cultivars of apple, pear, plum, cherry, bush fruit, vine, and cob nut. In line with Defra’s commitments to protecting plant genetic resources, we aim to maintain the collection as a genetic resource and increase its value for use in future breeding programmes.

Previous studies include an interdisciplinary project looking into the 'Implications of a nutrition-driven food policy for land use and the rural environment', funded as part of the RELU programme by RCUK (ESRC, BBSRC, NERC). This was in collaboration with colleagues in the Centre for Horticulture and Landscape, the Schools of Food Biosciences and Agriculture, Policy and Development, and the Soft Fruit Technology Group. We investigated the effects of novel UV-filtering plastics on the nutritional content of protected soft fruit and lettuce. My other interests are in the molecular control and physiology of floral development.