The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited

Hawke’s Bay Soil Scientist Dr Stephen Trolove reports on farm community meetings in Papua New Guinea, where he applied his expertise over the past two weeks. Plant & Food Research is implementing a program supported by Aotearoa New Zealand's international development cooperation initiative. The goal is to enhance the wellbeing and resilience of communities in five Pacific Island countries, including Papua New Guinea, against the impacts of climate change on their food systems. Dr. Trolove was accompanied by two other scientists and Programme Manager Dr Sharon Bell, as they collaborated with local partners, including the Fresh Produce Development Agency and World Vision New Zealand. The team spent time with farmers and local communities in the Eastern Highlands Province and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. These discussions will help inform their innovation work with project partners. #plantandfood #internationaldevelopment

🌏 I’ve just returned home after 5 unforgettable months at The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, and I’m feeling incredibly grateful for everything this experience has given me both as a researcher and as an individual. 🍎 💧Throughout my time in Hawke's Bay, I conducted a pot trial that explored how different #rootstock genotypes influence water usage strategies and #droughtresistance mechanisms in grafted vs. non-grafted #apple trees. 💚 A heartfelt thank you to Jill Stanley, Ken Breen, Vincent Bus, and the entire Fruit Crops Physiology team for hosting me. Huge thanks as well to everyone else who supported me during the trial: Francesca Zuffa, Eduardo Dias de Oliveira, Gianmarco Bortolotti, Melissa Venturi, Andrea Giovannini, Konni Biegert & Christian Andergassen — it was an honor to work with you & you made this journey so much more enjoyable and insightful! 💃 I left with a wealth of new skills, insights, and unforgettable memories that I look forwarad to taking with me into the upcoming season back in South Tyrol!

🧪 #WorkplaceWednesday Meet Heike Schwendel, one of our talented team hard at work in the lab at our Papaioea Palmerston North research centre.

While many growers and home gardeners view thrips as pests, research suggests there's more to these tiny insects than meets the eye. In the latest episode of Scigest, Plant & Food Research data scientist and podcast host Tom Moore speaks with entomologist Mette Nielsen about her career in entomology and her research into the many species of thrips found across Aotearoa New Zealand. 🎧 Listen here: https://bit.ly/3EmLyQ0

We’re proud to celebrate Dr Jean Carlos Bettoni, the first author of the most-cited article of 2024 in Phytopathology Journal. Prestigious recognition from the American Phytopathological Society, the world’s largest organisation of plant pathologists. 👏🌱 The review paper “Application of Biotechniques for In Vitro Virus and Viroid Elimination in Pome Fruit Crops” provides updated and comprehensive information on the development and recent advances in biotechnological methods that result in healthy pome fruit plants, like apples and pears. Additionally, it proposes future directions for developing virus- and viroid-negative pome fruit crops. You can read the review paper here https://lnkd.in/gEuk5shH

New research has determined that the current international pesticide testing standards, based on honey bee biology, do not adequately translate to Aotearoa New Zealand’s native bee population. One species in particular was shown to be 194 times more likely to die from exposure to certain pesticides than honey bees. Felicia Kueh Tai, a recent PhD graduate from the Plant & Food Research - The University of Auckland Joint Graduate School, compared how Leioproctus paahaumaa, a native solitary ground-nesting bee species, and A. mellifera (the European honey bee) responded to oral and contact bioassays with two agrichemicals: the neonicotinoid imidacloprid and the organophosphate dimethoate. The findings showed that L. paahaumaa was 36 times more susceptible to oral ingestion and 194 times more susceptible to contact exposure to the neonicotinoid imidacloprid compared with A. mellifera. This disparity in sensitivity was not observed with the organophosphate dimethoate. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/grRES6hf

🌱 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 & 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 🍽️ Last week, our Te Puke Sustainability Group organised a picking session with staff from Plant & Food Research and the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre to harvest surplus Red kiwifruit at our Te Puke research centre. Thanks to the generosity of our colleagues, the fruit was shared among staff, local schools, community meals, sports organisations, the fire station, marae, and the local food banks. This week, a fantastic group of volunteers organised by The Hub Te Puke came together to harvest surplus kiwifruit at our Te Puke research centre. In just two hours, they collected 800kg of kiwifruit! 🥝✨ Some of the fruit is now chilled at The Hub Te Puke, ready for distribution within their community. The rest has been shared with Good Neighbour to help nourish people in Tauranga. This initiative, Second Harvest, rescues surplus food directly from the source. Globally, 13–15% of food is lost before it even leaves the farm. Projects like this can reduce waste and feed more people. A big thanks to The Hub Te Puke Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance and the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre for making this possible. Special shoutout to Rachel Blacher, Roger Robson-Williams PhD, and Iain Lees-Galloway. This collaboration began after Rachel listened to our People | Planet | Food podcast and reached out to Roger Robson-Williams about food rescue. That connection led to an introduction to Iain Lees-Galloway—and here we are! #secondharvest #FoodRescue #plantandfood

In March, our team leader Jessica Vereijssen had the exciting opportunity to visit our team member Joanne Poulton at the Kerikeri site of The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited. The visit was a fantastic chance to engage in fieldwork, experience the Kerikeri site firsthand, and, of course, sample some of the delicious tropical fruits grown there! 🍍🥭🪷🥝 During their time together, they focused on #research into #InvertebratePests, #BiologicalControlAgents, and #pollinators, particularly in a #DragonFruit trial. Check out these fascinating images - notice the tiny tan mummified aphids on the dragon fruit, a clear sign of biocontrol agents at work! Plus, take a look at how pheromone traps are used to capture lepidopteran pests in maize. We have shared updates on these research projects before, so feel free to explore our previous posts if you're interested in learning more!

We're looking for Senior Scientist - Apple & Pear Physiology to lead innovative research in apple and pear physiology, helping to shape the future of sustainable fruit production. 🔬 What You’ll Do: 🔹 Design and manage field experiments, ensuring high-quality data collection and analysis 🔹 Collaborate with world-class scientists, industry leaders, and growers 🔹 Drive innovation in orchard systems, rootstocks, and cultivar performance 🔹 Extend research findings to growers and commercial partners 🌍 Why Join Us? 🔹 Permanent role based in beautiful Motueka 🔹 Work with a dedicated, expert team on industry-leading projects 🔹 Make a real impact on the future of sustainable fruit production 🔹 Enjoy opportunities for national and international collaboration 🔗 Apply here: https://bit.ly/4cnPKvr #plantandfood

Congratulations to Kirsten Phillips-Ong, an Orchard Technician at our Kerikeri Research Centre, who has been named a finalist in the Young Plant Producer of the Year competition. Kirsten recently joined the Field Research Network (FRN) team and works alongside Orchard Manager Gavin Lloyd and the wider FRN team to manage our 46 hectares of plantings in Kerikeri. She primarily works with science teams undertaking research in kiwifruit and dragon fruit. The Young Plant Producer of the Year competition is run by New Zealand Plant Producers Inc. and is designed to give young horticulturalists a chance to showcase and enhance their experience through a series of challenges. The competition among the five finalists will take place in Christchurch at the end of June, with the winner announced at the closing Awards Night event. The winner is also put forward to compete in the Young Horticulturalist of the Year competition in November. A huge congratulations to all the finalists 👏