Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Can a research partnership leave a legacy that lasts for generations?

The SLU–Ethiopia partnership has done just that. Its roots can be traced back to the Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit (CADU), launched in 1967, where researchers, agronomists and farmers worked together to improve agricultural production, strengthen rural communities and build lasting institutions.

Through photographs, letters and personal stories, we revisit a collaboration that helped shape agricultural development in Ethiopia and laid the foundation for a partnership that continues today.

Photos: Agronomist Karl-Axel Hansson, crop protection specialist and later deputy manager in CADU.

The images show field demonstrations during official visits, including several by Haile Selassie and Sweden’s Crown Prince, as well as meetings with farmers in remote villages where travel was often difficult. They also capture the practical experimentation that shaped the project: testing crop varieties and cultivation methods on mechanised farms and with smallholder farmers to find solutions suited to local conditions.

🔗 Read more: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/06/cadu/

SLU Global

Could lake sediments reveal a hidden carbon sink?

🔥 When forests burn, not all carbon is released into the atmosphere. Some is transformed into pyrogenic carbon, a stable form that can remain stored in soils and lake sediments for hundreds or even thousands of years.

At SLU, PhD student Wint Wah Phoo is investigating how pyrogenic carbon moves through forest landscapes and ends up in lake sediments after prescribed burns.

💬 “Some forms of pyrogenic carbon break down very slowly and can remain in the environment for hundreds to thousands of years, making it an important long-term carbon sink,” says Phoo.

By analysing lake sediments, researchers can uncover clues about past fire activity and better understand how carbon is stored over time.

💬 “If successful, our project will provide new quantitative insights into how fire activity influences pyrogenic carbon transport and deposition in lake sediments,” says Phoo.

🔗 Read more: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/06/could-lake-sediments-reveal-hidden-carbon-sink/

Photo: Tashina Alavi and Wint Wah Phoo

Happy Midsummer from all of us at SLU! 🌼

Today we celebrate summer, the light, and, if the old legends are to be believed, love too. 💚

Legend has it that if you pick seven different kinds of flowers on Midsummer’s Eve and place them under your pillow, you’ll dream of your future sweetheart. Will it work? There's only one way to find out...

Whether you're enjoying new potatoes and strawberries, dancing around the maypole, or celebrating in your own way, we hope you have a wonderful Midsummer filled with sunshine, laughter, and good company.

Happy Midsummer!

Photo: Jenny Svennås-Gillner, SLU

🥔 As Midsummer approaches, new potatoes will once again find their place on tables across Sweden. But why are potatoes so important to us?

When potatoes were introduced to Sweden in the 18th century, they were an unfamiliar crop. Over time, however, they transformed the country. Potatoes produced high yields, could be grown in many different soils, and provided valuable nutrients, helping to improve food security and support population growth.

Today, potatoes remain an important crop, and researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) are working to secure their future. Research focuses on developing varieties that are more resistant to diseases such as late blight, as well as exploring how potatoes and potato starch can contribute to a more sustainable food system.

How do you like your potatoes at Midsummer? 🌼🥔

Photo:
New potatoes at midsummer. Credits: Alexander Hall/imagebank.sweden.se
Potato harvest, Reija Danielsson, SLU
Folke Sitbon replanting potatoes in the greenhouse of SLU Uppsala Biocenter. Jenny Svennås-Gillner, SLU
Agronomist students visiting a farm. Julio Gonzalez, SLU

What shapes the way we care for our horses? 🐴

A new study from SLU and the University of Turku shows that horse owners' psychological profiles can influence everything from the time they spend with their horses to the training methods and equipment they choose.

“Improving horses’ lives often requires understanding their caregivers as well. Human psychological characteristics do not have dramatic effects, but even small, systematic differences can have practical implications when it comes to long term interactions between a horse and a human,” says lead author Océane Liehrmann.

The findings suggest that greater self awareness could support more conscious, horse centred decision making and ultimately better horse welfare.

Based on responses from 2,239 horse owners across 21 countries.

🔗 Read more: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/06/the-personality-and-attachment-style-of-a-horse-owner-shape-the-interaction-with-horses/

Photo: Océane Liehrmann

Four individuals have been appointed honorary doctors at SLU in 2026.
This year's honorary doctors represent a wide range of expertise and experience, from gastronomy and environmental advocacy to forestry research and reindeer husbandry:

- Daniel Berlin: award-winning chef and ambassador for Nordic food culture
- Franciska Rensberg: reindeer herder whose long-term breeding work has contributed significantly to both practice and research
- Mikhail Durkin: dedicated advocate for a healthier Baltic Sea
- Brett Butler: world-leading expert on family forest ownership and sustainable forestry

The honorary doctors will receive their degrees during the doctoral award ceremony in Uppsala on 3 October 2026. On 2 October, they will give public lectures that will also be livestreamed via the SLU website.

Read more: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/06/four-new-honorary-doctors-appointed-by-slu-in-2026/

Congratulations to our honorary doctors of 2026!

🍓 Can wild strawberries help protect cultivated strawberries from disease - without relying on chemical pesticides?

At SLU, Professor Johan Stenberg is leading research into biopesticides based on beneficial fungi naturally found on wild strawberries. The goal is to strengthen cultivated strawberries' natural defences and contribute to more sustainable food production.

💬 "The yeast-like fungi become like microbial, natural bodyguards." - Johan Stenberg

The research is part of a broader effort in integrated plant protection, combining multiple strategies to reduce crop losses, improve resilience, and support increased Swedish food production in a future where access to chemical pesticides may become more limited.

🔗 Read the full article: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/06/strawberries-integrated-plant-protection/

Photo: Alva Mårtensson, SLU and Johanna Grundström, SLU.

Summer time = Thesis Day 🎓☀️

Congratulations to all our students! We wish you the very best of luck as you take your next steps. We hope to keep in touch and follow your future successes. You made it! ✨

Photo: Anna Englund, Therese Hallqvist and Olof Bergvall