Work Package 1 Sampling update

Map showing soil sampling points across England
Map showing sampling points across England. Map generated by Paida Mataranyika using Leaflet (OpenstreetMap).

In May 2025, WP1 led by Prof Tom Bell and Paida Mataranyika (postdoc) completed the largest soil and plant sampling effort in the project. They collected 1084 soil samples from 84 fields and 40 farms across England. The samples have been processed in our well-equipped labs on site at Silwood Park. Sequencing and analysis are well underway, and we’re excited to share the progress soon.

This sampling effort would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of the hardworking wheat farmers in England. We’d also like to thank Lena Lancastle and Dr Peter Mark who assisted in the sampling effort.

WP1 presents, to the best of our knowledge, the most extensive sampling strategy done in wheat grown soils in the UK for microbial analysis.