Using ‘bugs to tackle bugs’ Plant & Food Research have fought off some serious threats to our fruit and wine industries.

When the bacterial disease Psa struck our iconic kiwifruit, Ruakura Plant Pathology Team developed screening tests and a new bio-control yeast, which is being launched to market this spring. In 2017, a Prime Minister’s Science Prize recognised the critical role of this work in the kiwifruit industry’s spectacular recovery. The team also came to the rescue when fungicides used to control botrytis rot in grapes stopped working, threatening our wine exports. They are the only team in the world to successfully commercialise three new bio-fungicides to naturally control bunch rot year-round. Add to this their success in bio-controls for bacterial disease in apples and you have a pioneering team at the forefront of sustainable crop disease management.

Ruakura Plant Pathology Team

Plant & Food Research

Agricultural Science Award

Using ‘bugs to tackle bugs’ Plant & Food Research have fought off some serious threats to our fruit and wine industries.

When the bacterial disease Psa struck our iconic kiwifruit, Ruakura Plant Pathology Team developed screening tests and a new bio-control yeast, which is being launched to market this spring. In 2017, a Prime Minister’s Science Prize recognised the critical role of this work in the kiwifruit industry’s spectacular recovery. The team also came to the rescue when fungicides used to control botrytis rot in grapes stopped working, threatening our wine exports. They are the only team in the world to successfully commercialise three new bio-fungicides to naturally control bunch rot year-round. Add to this their success in bio-controls for bacterial disease in apples and you have a pioneering team at the forefront of sustainable crop disease management.