New website launched!

New webpages have now been added within a campaign space we are calling ‘Growing Futures’- why Growing Futures you may ask, well this is where you’ll now find case studies demonstrating exactly how our research adds value to the industries we work with. It’s full of video, photos, articles, podcasts and more so enjoy!

Following this launch we’d like to thank everyone who over the past 12 months has signed up to receive updates from this blog, and to the every reader who has visited the site and shared its content. However we have recently opted to consolidate Plant & Food Research’s digital content to our main website, therefore content will no longer be updated on this blog.

Anyone wishing to keep in touch with the news and events of Plant & Food Research is encouraged to sign up to receive our bi-monthly e-newsletter or join our media release mailing list

And don’t forget to join us within any or all of the social media channels we maintain – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn

 

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by Mike on September 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in News
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Posted by Mike on September 25, 2012

http://plantandfood.info/2012/09/25/new-website-launched/

Happy 190th Birthday Gregor Mendel

Gregor Johann Mendel (July 20, 1822 – January 6, 1884) was an Austrian  scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance. Although the significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century, the independent rediscovery of these laws formed the foundation of the modern science of genetics.

Science Group Leader for Plant & Food Research’s Genomics Group, Dr Roger Hellens, is closer than most to the work of Gregor Mendel. His research has helped discover the molecular keys to biology’s most well-known experiments,  most recently the gene that controls pea flower colour from Mendel’s initial studies of inheritance.

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by Mike on July 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Science

Posted by Mike on July 20, 2012

http://plantandfood.info/2012/07/20/happy-190th-birthday-gregor-mendel/

Bumblebees and Pollination

David Pattemore with an artificial bumblebee hive

Much of the food we eat every day relies on pollination services provided by honeybees.
But honeybees are in a bit of strife these days – in New Zealand, varroa mite is having a huge impact on hive productivity, and the mites have developed resistance to two of the three chemicals used to control them.

However our pollination scientists  are looking at whether or not bumblebees could also be recruited to pollinate flowers in commercial orchards. There are four introduced species of bumblebee in New Zealand, with Bombus terrestris being the most important pollinator. Radio New Zealand’s Alison Ballance recently visited our Ruakura site, near Hamilton, and met David Pattemore, to find out about our new project involving radio-tracking wild bumblebee queens in avocado orchards to find out what kinds of nests they prefer, and installing artificial hives (pictured above) that they hope will attract bumblebee colonies and provide a way of allowing growers to monitor bumblebee numbers on their properties.

While honeybees will remain the main pollinators, this research may allow bumblebees to become an important contributor.

Click here to hear the Radio New Zealand Podcast.

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by Mike on July 2, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Media Coverage, Sustainable Production
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Posted by Mike on July 2, 2012

http://plantandfood.info/2012/07/02/bumblebees-and-pollination/

How plant science improved household incomes in Nepal

Between 2003 and 2011 Plant & Food Research, in partnership with the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, with financial support from The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (UN-FAO) and the NZ Aid Programme of MFAT, has been involved in a programme designed to develop sustainable animal fodder systems for improving household incomes in Nepal.

The goal of the project was to build technical capacity and familiarisation with fodder technology packages for on-farm winter and summer fodder crop production in order to alleviate poverty and improve rural livelihoods in six geographically distinct districts of Nepal, as our latest video below explains.

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by Mike on June 11, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Video
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Posted by Mike on June 11, 2012

http://plantandfood.info/2012/06/11/how-plant-science-improved-household-incomes-in-nepal/

Breeding Psa resistant kiwifruit

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by Mike on June 5, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Breeding, Science
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Posted by Mike on June 5, 2012

http://plantandfood.info/2012/06/05/breeding-psa-resistant-kiwifruit/

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