University of Reading tracks fruit tree flowering as spring breaks, with Oracle
Summary
As we approach the Vernal Equinox on 20 March, the University of Reading and Oracle are letting it be known that they have teamed up to monitor fruit tree flowering. “Everyone who takes part in this landmark study will be playing an important part in telling us what is going on across the country, whether they’re in the ‘garden of England’ [Kent], central London or the north of Scotland.” The project has buddied up with Oracle for Research, a venture in which the supplier provides technology for academic researchers, in this case for natural scientists. A statement about the site said it should take no more than five minutes to upload information about when and where the varieties of cherry, apple, pear or plum trees in their private or commercial gardens start to flower. Data from the research project will be uploaded onto an interactive map, providing a picture of how climate change is impacting flowering times compared with pollinator activity across the UK, as well as how it varies between different regions. Two previous outcomes of that were research projects at the University of Bristol – one to combat the tropical disease chikungunya, the second to aid in the search for a smoking cessation drug.
