I am delighted to be able to end the year with some festive-season news of awards and a scholarship for our members. At the NZIAHS Canterbury Section Christmas function held at Lincoln University, Dr John Keoghan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship to recognise his service to the NZIAHS and to agricultural science. At the same function, the PGG Wrightson Seeds Significant Achievement Award in Agriculture/Horticulture was presented to a collaborative team from Plant & Food Research and AgResearch (Lincoln) led by Dr Brendon Malcolm. Finally, Claire Scofield is the recipient of a NZ Fruitgrowers’ Charitable Trust postgraduate scholarship for her research on calcium in cherries.
2024 NZIAHS Honorary Fellow
Dr John Keoghan has been deservedly recognised for his commitment to the Otago and Canterbury Sections for 42 years, during which he served as a national councillor in 1989-90. John joined the NZIAS (as it was then) in 1982 and soon after became an Otago Section committee member. He chaired the Section from 1986 to 1989 and again in 1991-1992, when he moved to Lincoln.
He joined the Canterbury Section committee in 1993, was Chairman from 1996 until 2000, and remains an active member of the Section Committee. He has been closely involved with organising and running the Canterbury Section forums since their inception.
From judging at Science Fairs to meeting with farmers or MPs, John has always promoted soundly based agricultural science. He has encouraged fellowship amongst Institute members, organising many field trips, family and fellowship events.
John was on the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board between 2007 and 2013 and is a member of the Lincoln University Alumni Association.
His involvement with the Tara Hills research station was marked by his identifying the productive suitability of a huge range of conventional and alternative species options in various landscapes, environments and management conditions, by transplanting seedlings directly into the ground. This innovative work established the suitability of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) for dry and difficult soils where conventional clovers would not persist, and the ability of Caucasian clover (Trifolium ambiguum) to persist and spread under a range of grazing regimes.
The results of John’s research are reflected in the range publications with his co-workers, with titles including:
- Native and low-input grasses – A New Zealand high country perspective
- Pasture legumes for the drought-prone, outwash soils of the southern Mackenzie Basin
- A Guide to Pastures and Pasture Species for the New Zealand High Country
- More persistent legumes and grasses for oversown tussock county
- Pasture species for drought-prone lower slopes in the South Island high country
- Evaluation of the agronomic potential of pasture legume introductions on droughty outwash soils.
PGG Wrightson Seeds Significant Achievement Award
The PGG Wrightson Seeds Significant Achievement Award is presented annually by the Canterbury Section of the Institute to the person or group which has made the most significant recent contributions to the advancement of Canterbury Agriculture/Horticulture. This year’s winners are Brendon Malcolm, Steven Dellow, Shane Maley and Anna Taylor.
Over several years, this team from Plant & Food Research and AgResearch (Lincoln) – led by Dr Malcolm – have invested considerable time, dedication and expertise investigating the potential of ‘catch crops’ to assist with the alleviation of soil compaction following winter forage crop grazing and potential reduction of nitrate leaching and sediment erosion from these intensive systems.
The team’s success in obtaining support for their research enabled them to run many field trials and on-farm demonstrations in different years and areas of New Zealand, including Canterbury. They embraced new ways of communicating their research methods and findings, such as taking live video footage of their activities, and have been circulating their methods and results online via social media pages.
Farmers, growers and other agricultural professionals have been able to keep abreast of progress and to provide input through commenting on the work.
The team have attracted a good online following that has led to increased interest, good visibility of the research and more rapid uptake of the technology. A measure of their success is that it much less commonplace for us to see bare fallow land after winter grazing.
Post-graduate scholarship
My congratulations also to Claire Scofield, the recipient of a NZ Fruitgrowers’ Charitable Trust postgraduate scholarship 2024. Her research investigates the effects of environmental conditions under rain covers on calcium uptake in cherries. Claire aims to deepen the understanding of the role of calcium in cherries through investigation of the xylem dynamics and the impact of rain covers, exploring management strategies through vegetative management, nutrient applications, or plant growth regulators.
This study is funded by Hort Innovation and supervised by the University of Tasmania with half of the field research conducted in Central Otago and supported by Plant & Food Research. It benefits both Australian and New Zealand growers dealing with similar fruit quality issues.
Science review
Unfortunately the review of science drags on with the latest comments suggest nothing will be communicated now until the New Year (Review of science sector, role of prime minister’s chief science advisor won’t be announced until next year | RNZ News).
A week earlier, Judith Collins (Science, Innovation and Technology Minister) announced changes to the Marsden Fund with a focus on science to the detriment of humanities and social sciences (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/535669/government-s-marsden-fund-cuts-all-humanities-social-sciences-research-funding-slashed). However, Ag and Hort science were notable in being absent from the science list that included ‘Areas such as physics, chemistry, maths, engineering and biomedical sciences’ listed because they ‘made more of an impact on the economy’. It is to be hoped that the proven long-term benefits to the New Zealand economy of investment in Ag and Hort science are not forgotten in the wider re-structuring of the New Zealand science system.
Ben Penno NZIAHS/Massey University Leading Student
Ben is a third-year student at Massey University who has just completed his studies towards a Bachelor of Horticultural Science. Having grown up in the Wellington area he has appreciated the opportunities his degree has given him to work in and learn about the rural sector. Ben has a passion for perennial crops like fruit and hops and wants to join the horticulture industry as a grower. He would like to thank the NZIAHS for their award and is pleased to join the institute.
Season’s greetings
Besides congratulating John and the collaborative team for their awards,
and Claire for her scholarship, I would like to extend
festive greetings to all Institute members and wish you a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Conferences |
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Recently heldSince our last newsletter, three conferences were held as a single event in Rotorua (IX International Postharvest Symposium, VII International Symposium on Postharvest Pathology and X International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables). The event was well attended and was highly successful, with members of NZIAHS involved in both organizing and contributing to the scientific presentations and discussions |
UpcomingISHS NZIAHS / NZSPB |
