Waste to Treasure: Growing value in winery waste
Wine companies have been "very generous" in gifting grape marc to a project working to transform the winemaking byproduct.
Plant fungal diseases can be devastating for horticulture and agriculture - in the worst cases, wiping out entire crops.
But Lincoln Agritech scientists believe altering the bacteria associated with disease-causing fungi will lead to new strategies to protect crops.
They have picked up a $1 million contract from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to develop attenuated (weakened) variants of disease-causing fungi that can be used to prime plants and protect against fungal diseases. The research programme will run for two years.
"In previous research, we found that the bacteria associated with a fungus affect its ability to cause disease," Dr Jin-Hua Li explains. "Our approach will make fungi available to cause disease by changing the bacteria that are associated with the fungi."
Working with scientists from Scion, Utrecht University in the Netherlands and the Foundation for Arable Research, Lincoln Agritech scientists will test the concept on brassica plants (a genus of plants that includes cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli).
"We will test these attenuated variants on brassica plants, such as broccoli and cabbage," Li adds.
"We will coat seeds with the altered fungus, then try to infect the seedlings with the original fungus to see whether our new products have protected the plant from infection."
Once the concept has been proven in brassica plants, it will be applied to cereal crops, and could potentially be used on several horticultural crops.
Li believes this new approach to protection will not only help New Zealand's horticulture and agriculture industries, but also provide an export opportunity.
"The global agrochemical industry is pivoting to develop new biological alternatives in response to urgent global demands for reduced chemical use."
Li gives as an example EU regulations which demand a 50% reduction in chemical pesticide use by 2030.
"Our novel biotechnology will help exporters meet the growing market demand for non-chemical disease control."
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
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Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
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