william macalpine

Science

William Macalpine

Plant Breeder

Crop Resource Use and Quality

PUBLICATIONS
Location
Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ
Tel
+44 (0) 1582 938 018
Email
william.macalpine@rothamsted.ac.uk
Professional Platforms
ORCID
Google Scholar

Biography

William is a willow breeder at Rothamsted Research. He has over 22 years’ experience in willow breeding, perennial energy crop agronomy and in making phenotypic and physiological measurements. He has planned, planted and managed around 100 perennial energy crop field trials, including the Biomass Connect Hub site network and the Accelerating Willow Breeding and Deployment (AWBD) training populations. He has performed over 750 crosses, carried out research to overcome crossing barriers, produced mapping populations and elite SRC willow varieties. William has an in-depth knowledge of the UK National Willow Collection, a unique Salix germplasm resource, which is located at Rothamsted Research.

Strategic Programme

  • Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Systems (ASSIST)
  • Tailoring Plant Metabolism (TPM)
  • Accelerating Willow Breeding and Deployment (AWBD), DESNZ, 2023
  • Biomass Connect: Biomass Innovation and Information, DESNZ, 2023
  • BBSRC ISPGs: Tailoring Plant Metabolism, 2017 & Cropping Carbon, 2012
  • Defra funded Improving short rotation coppice through breeding and genomics - NF0424, 2003

Science Projects

  • UKRI-BBSRC Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) Demonstrators BB/V011553/1: Perennial Biomass Crops for Greenhouse Gas Removal, 2021
  • BEIS Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme, Accelerating Willow Breeding and Deployment (AWBD) 6 months Phase 1, 2021
  • BEIS Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme, BioFIND: The Biomass Feedstock Innovation Demonstrator Platform1 Phase 1, 2021
  • BEIS Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme, Perennial Energy Crop - Decision Support System, Phase 1, 2021

PhD Projects

  • Identifying drought tolerant and/or water use efficient short rotation coppice willows

Awards

  • 2003 - BSc Agriculture, University of Reading, UK
  • 2019 - M.Phil. ‘Identifying drought tolerant short rotation coppice willows’, Department of Crop and Environmental Sciences, Harper Adams University

Measures of Esteem

  • Vice-Chairperson of ‘Domestication, breeding and selection’ group within Working Party on Genetic Resources within the UN / FAO International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast Growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment (IPC)
  • Plant breeders rights awarded from Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) for: RR06103 'Roth Hambleton', RR06202 Roth Mourne', RR04250 Roth Cheviot, RR04246 Roth Cotswold, RR04248 Roth Chiltern
  • February 2010-2017. Annual lecture given to University of Nottingham masters students. Renewable energy from plants: Willow breeding at Rothamsted
  • December 2013: 22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition Session organiser for
  • Short rotation forestry and short-rotation coppice session
  • 2nd Prize in poster competition at Bioten Conference. Poster titled: "Seed to near market variety
  • the BEGIN willow breeding pipeline 2003-2010 and beyond”
  • May 2008. RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal. William was a member of the Rothamsted Research team that won gold for the Continuous Learning display: Willow Power - The diversity of willow and its role in combating climate change.