However, Prof Lin Field, head of crop protection at Rothamsted Research, said she was pleased with the outcome of the vote.

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Dr Huw Jones, research group leader at Rothamsted Research, one of the leading UK institutions in the field of GM crops, agreed.

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Past two barriers of security, a mile inside the Rothamsted Research centre, I was taken to see what must be the most closely guarded field in the United Kingdom.

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One idea had been for the pro-science team to link hands to keep the antis at bay but the Rothamsted scientists had feared that might lead to trouble so the plan was dropped.

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Over a two-year period at the Rothamsted Research site in North Devon, the team found that the hybrid grass reduced run-off by up to 51% compared with perennial ryegrass and by 43% compared with meadow fescue.

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Dr Ray and his colleague Dr Nicholas Brereton said the latest work built on previous work involving a wider study on willow varieties at the national collection at Rothamsted Research, which is the longest running agricultural research station in the world.

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Scientists at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, working on a kind of wheat which they say would need less pesticide and bring other benefits have written an open letter to protestors who are determined to try to close down the site where the crops are going to be grown.

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