PlantProtectionResearchUnit

Plant pests and diseases can be

managed in sustainable farming systems

through effective agrichemical and

biological control technologies. New

Zealand’s agricultural and horticultural

industries need to find the best provider

of plant protection research and

development. Overseas companies are

also recognising the benefits of

developing and evaluating their products

in such a demanding market. These

clients expect a comprehensive service

that holds quality and confidentiality as

key components in the agrichemical

industry. The Plant Protection Research

Unit, PPRU, is here to meet these

expectations.

The PPRU. is a leader in field-based plant

protection systems, agrichemical residue

analysis, and agrichemical training.

PPRU's complementary Biological and

Analytical Sections are committed to

professional, quality service in the areas

of agrichemical research and application

technology, pest management, and

interactions between the biological

components of agri-ecosystems.

PPRU EXPERTISEThe PPRU has received national and international recognition for providing quality analytical and research services. Their individual expertise across a wide range of disciplines is integrated into a team approach. The highly skilled staff have experience in analytical chemistry, entomology, plant pathology and weed science. With supporting ties to Lincoln University, PPRU is able to tap into such diverse areas of knowledge as agricultural engineering, biotechnology, ecology and sustainable resource management, applied economics, computing and biometrics. Contract options provide a range of services that can be tailored to suit the needs of a variety of clients, including off­season testing services for international companies.

WHAT IS THE PLANT PROTECTION UNIT?

Plant Protection Research Unit was formed in 1988 to bring together plant protection expertise from several departments at Lincoln University. The PPRU has recently joined Lincoln Ventures Limited, a company owned by the university. The sophisticated research facilities at Lincoln Ventures allows the PPRU to continue to uphold the most exacting standards. Lincoln Ventures Limited has three other divisions: Lincoln Environmental, AEl Software, and Lincoln Technology. All consist of highly qualified and motivated researchers and consultants. Lincoln Technology’s Agrichemical Group in Hamilton specialises in application technology, and provides PPRU with access to numerous North Island research facilities.

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The PPRU Biological Section is the only field

testing facility in New Zealand registered by

Telarc New Zealand under 1SQ9001 working

to OECD guidelines for Good Laboratory

Practice (GLP) and Good Field Practice (GFP),

the international standards for quality

assurance. The Analytical Section is

registered and regularly audited by Telarc

New Zealand to Good Laboratory

Management Practice standard (GLMP),

comprising ISO guide 25 with 1S09002

management systems superimposed. The

Unit’s management team controls technical

management and the preparation of

experimental protocols, along with the

supervision, scheduling and conduct of

experiments and adherence to Telarc

registration.

REGISTERED

FIELD RESEARCH

Bioassay of beneficial species for label claims.

Bioassays to determine efficacy of keratinophagous insect resist treatments.

The PPRU is a leader in horticultural and agricultural entomology and plant pathology research, and provides a range of services in:

• biological control• bioassay techniques• pesticide screening• pest management• biological control of weeds• stored products and household pest entomology• systematic entomology and computer modelling• pesticide policy analysis• disease measurement• epidemic analysis• yield loss assessment• disease management monitoring techniques• cultivar evaluation• chemical resistance screening and management.

Chemical and biological aspects of weed science have also been a specialty at the PPRU for many years. Staff have national and international recognition for research on:

• environment-herbicide relationships• uptake and translocation studies on herbicides and plant• growth regulators• mode of action studies• weed biology and its relationship to herbicide performance• and crop productivity• weed population studies• weed autecology.

ENTOM OLOGY

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Several insect and mite species are held in culture. Several others can be easily field collected. Field experiments are normally conducted in the New Zealand summer between September and May, but with sufficient forward planning, cultures can be started from field collections and maintained for laboratory experiments over winter. Pesticide resistant and susceptible colonies of some species are available.

Pest insects in existing or possible cultures:

Lepidoptera - white butterfly, diamondbacked moth, codling moth, several leafroller (tortricid) species, flour moth, carpet moth, clothes moth, and several species of pest noctuids.Coleoptera - common stored product species including sawtoothed grain beetle, granary weevil, dermestids, pasture scarabs.Hemiptera - aphids including: blue-green lucerne aphid, pea aphid, green peach aphid, rose-grain aphid, cabbage aphid and woolly apple aphid, whitefly, green vegetable bug, wheatbug, and scale insects including: San Jose, oystershell and greedy.Diptcra - blowflies, houseflies, syrphids (with predatory larvap) and vinegarflies (e.g. Drosophila). Thysanoptera - flower thrips, tobacco thrips.Other species - cockroaches (Periplaneta species), silverfish.Acari - twospotted spider mite, European red mite, citrus red mite.

Beneficial Insects in existing or possible cultures:

• Coleoptera - ladybirds or ladybugs, including Coccinella spp. and Stethorus.-

• Hymenoptera - Encarsia, Aphidius, and Apanteles species.

• Neuroptera - lacewings, (Microtonus tasmaniae)• Acari - Phptosciulus persimilis

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Pasture weeds.

Cereal diseases.

Problem gorse stands.

WEEDS

PPRU is located in a major arable and pastoral production area. Staff have comprehensive experience in cereal, grain, legume and potato research with current emphasis on evaluating new crops. A vigorous research programme in pastures and lucerne provides us with field sites and experience in these important areas.

The weed flora of New Zealand also includes many of the major, temperate weed species of arable crops and pastures that occur in Europe and North America, it is possible to specify a particular weed species for southern hemisphere testing. The Unit has access to weed seed collections and a weed nursery, and extensive experience in raising weed plants from seed and vegetative propagules.

PPRU also has considerable expertise with specific weed species of crops including: wild oat Auena fotuo, couch Agropyron (-Elymus) repens, California thistle Cirsiuin oruense and yarrow Achillea millefolium; and also of pastures: flatweeds, hawkweeds and gorse Ulex europeus, giant buttercup Ranunculus acris, and blackberry Rubus fructicosus.

PLANT PATHOGENSLaboratory assessment of

disease sensitivity to fungicides. A wide range of fungal, bacterial, viral and other causal

agents can be cultured or maintained on a wide range of host species. The Unit has access to a local culture collection of important pathogens and strains (e.g., chemical resistant types) and further access to a larger collection from throughout New Zealand. Facilities are also available for work on necrotrophic and biotrophic pathogens and symbiotic associations.

Many of the pathogens found in the northern hemisphere are available for study in the laboratory, and most diseases are field active for experiments initiated in the spring (August to October) for reporting in January to April.These include:

Cereals and Grasses:

Wheat - stripe rust Puccinia striiformis, leaf rust Puccinio recondito, stem rust Puccinio graminis, powdery mildew Erysiphe graminis *, speckled leaf blotch Mycosphoerella graminicola*, glume blotch Leptosphaeria nodorum* , take-all Goeumonnomyces graminis* footrot Fusarium spp.*, eyespot Pseudocerosporella herpotrichoides* and smut Ustilago nuda.Barley - leaf rust Puccinia hordei, halo spot Selenophoma donacis, net blotch Pyrenophora teres, scald Rhynchosporiurn secalis*, head smut Ustilago hordei.Oats - smut Ustilago auenae. leaf blotch Leptosphaeria auenaria, halo blight Pseudomonas coronafaciens*. Ryegrass - crown rust Puccinia coronata, stem rust Puccinia graminis.

Vegetables:

Brassicas - ring spot Mycosphoerella brassicicola, Alternaria spot Alternaria brassicicola. Downy mildew Peronospora parasitica.Potatoes - blight Alternaria solani & Phytophthora infestans*. black scurf Rhizoctoinia solani*. black leg (soft rot) Erwinia carotouora, viruses A, M, S, X, Y, and PLRV. Tomatoes - grey mould Botrytis cinerea, anthracnose Colletotrichum spp.*. stem rots Sclerotinia sclerotiorum & Rhizoctoinia solani, bacterial speck Pseudomonas tomato, late blight Phytophthora infestans*, target spot Alternaria solani.

Pathogens of beans, peas, cucurbits, carrots, celery, capsicums (sweet or bell peppers), onions and garlic are also available.

*These diseases have special requirements such as irrigation, autumn establishment or distant locations. This requires forward planning and in some cases additional cost.

Tree Fruits:

Pipfruit (apples and pears) - black spot Venturia inaequalis, powdery mildew Podosphaera leucotricha, fire blight Erwinia amylovora.Stonefruit (peaches, nectarines, plums & cherries) - brown rot Monilinia fructicola, blast Pseudomonas syringae, leaf curl Taphrina deformans, grey mould Botrytis cinerea. Grapes - bunch rot Botrytis cinerea, powdery mildrew Uncinula necator.

Applying agrichemicals to small field plots using a battery powered miniboom system.

Pest and disease trial work in specially designed block plantings of treecrops.

FIELD FACILITIESThe Unit is ideally situated near 20 ha of prime research land and arable pastoral and horticultural production areas which allows PPRU to carry out research on a range of temperate crops and pasture species.

PPRU also has access to state-of-the-art facilities fordetailed, controlled environment investigations andmodern laboratories for physiological,biochemical and agronomic analysis ofplant responses to agrichemicals. TheUnit also makes use of Universityfacilities.

The Unit lias access to orchard, field and row crops that are important to agriculture and horticulture both in New Zealand and other temperate countries. Experimental plots, with full agronomic support, can be established on Lincoln University land to client specification. Pesticides can be applied by the commonly used application equipment including manual and motorised knapsack, boom, or airblast sprayers. Sampling can be carried out by the most appropriate method for the target organism and crop.

Access to soil and root washing facilities, with either freshwater or saline water, for extracting soil inhabiting species.

Large scale drying facilities are available for dry weight and yield analysis.

• A full range of radio-isotope equipment to study the uptake, translocation and metabolism of agrichemicals.

• The controlled environment growth cabinets and greenhouses are adjacent to modern laboratories for detailed investigation of agrichemical performance.

• Facilities are available for determining the influence of environmental factors, including light intensity, temperature and relative humidity on the efficacy of agrichemicals.

Access to fully instrumented “Cropliner” airblast sprayers in Lincoln and Hamilton.

Moisture sensing facilities to look at plant stress and water budgets.

Thermal weeding equipment is under development.

• it is possible to vary soil moisture and fertility to meet very specific environmental requirements for plant growth.

. Application of agrichemicals to whole plants by precision plot sprayer or more localised applications using micro-applicators producing droplets of 50 pm diameter or greater.

Access to fully equipped physiology and biochemistry laboratories provide a range of techniques to investigate the performance of agrichemicals or their effects on crop quality. A range of spectrophotometric, chromatographic and other analytical techniques is available.

Culturing and maintenance:

• Walk-in controlled environment rooms capable of maintaining plants and insects in temperate or tropical conditions of humidity, temperature, and light regime.

• individual, ‘stand alone’ precision growth cabinets.

• Controlled environment greenhouses and an insectary.

Precision environmental

cabinets featuring

temperature, RH, and light

regime control.

• Precision incubators and laminar flow cabinets for micro-organisms and tissue culture.

• Isolation plant propagator for pathogen race testing.

• A complete array of field equipment for land preparation, drilling, irrigation and harvesting, this includes a range of precision drills and a small plot harvester.

Biological testing of pesticides:

• An agrichemical laboratory furnished with micro-applicators, spectrophotometer, electrophoresis equipment and other appropriate apparatus. Other features are a ‘Potter’ tower facility for repeatable, controlled dosing with pesticides.

• Prime land for large and small scale experiments on arable crops, pastures and horticultural crops.

• Bioassays of beneficial arthropods to IOBC/BBA criteria.

• The choice of tractor mounted or precision hand-held equipment for the application of agrichemicals.

• A modern, fully equipped field laboratory complex for processing field samples of plant or soil material.

• Equipment for dressing and assessing quality factors in seed samples for possible pending analysis in the laboratory.

• Ideal field sites are available for determining the biology and population dynamics of weed species and for assessment of crop-weed interference and competition.

ELIZA-based potato virus testing is MAF approved for export seed crops.

ANALYTICAL LABORATORY

The analytical laboratory specialises in the detection of agrichemical residues. The laboratory holds Telarc GLMP registration for high volume routine tests, and many of the methods required by international agrichemical companies. With sufficient time allowed, the laboratory is willing to increase the number of compounds on its registration for clients.

The laboratory extracts samples from a variety of matrices: leaf, fruit, root, grain, soil, water and animal tissues, products and by-products. It is involved with many clients in determining data for product registration purposes, who consequently call upon the extensive skills of staff in solving method development problems. New analytical protocols can be developed as required.

Modern laboratory equipment to assist extraction.

GC-ECD, GC-FID, GC-TSD.

GC-MS, and purge and trap.

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LABORATORYFACILITIESThe laboratory is staffed by highly trained and qualified analysts who have at their disposal an extensive array of modern, computer-driven, analytical instrumentation including:

GC-electron capture detection (halogenated compounds, OC’s, SP’s).GC-flame ionisation detection (general). GC-thermal selectivity detection (N and P compounds, or OP’s).GC-mass selective detection (a number of the above, but with ion “fingerprint” of the compound for identification purposes as well as quantification).HPLC-photo diode array detection (3D UV/vis detection).HPLC-spectro-fluorescent detection (fluorescent compounds or derivatives).

Sample clean-up capabilities include solvent partition, column separation, SPE and GPC.A wide range of reference materials is held in stock.

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TESTING

New Zealand has a diverse climate and a wide range of agricultural and horticultural crops, both subtropical and temperate.The Unit’s southern hemisphere location confers important benefits to northern hemisphere clients, it provides opportunities for out-of-season testing which can expedite additional information for new technologies in pest, weed and disease control.

The Plant Protection Research Unit is located on the Lincoln university campus, which is only a 20 minute drive from the South island's largest city of Christchurch. This east coast region has a maritime climate, where winter temperatures rarely exceed 10-12 C (50-54' F), with frosts and occasional snow. Spring, officially September to November, is warm and moist with day temperatures ranging between 20-25 C (68-77" F) from late October. Summer, December to February, is typically hot and dry especially from mid-January. Day time temperatures frequently exceed 25" C (75" F) and often reach 30" C (8L F). Autumn, March to May, is similar to spring. Rainfall ranges between 600-800 mm (24-30 inches) per year near the east coast. Northeast winds predominate in the spring and autumn, cold southerlies in the winter, and hot dry norwesterlies in the summer.

The region’s water is supplied from vast aquifers replenished by rainfall in the Southern Alps, about lOO km to the west. Crops grown in the area include cereals, predominantly wheat and barley; pasture, including ryegrass, clover, and lucerne (alfalfa); and common field crops, mostly potatoes, brassicas, beans and lentils, in the orchards, apples, nectarines and peaches are popular. There are also regions of berryfruit, intensive vegetable production, and vineyards.

The PPRU also has access to research and testing facilities in the North Island through Lincoln Venture’s Hamilton branch. This office is centrally situated in the North Island within easy access to the intensive vegetable production areas of Pukekohe, the subtropical fruit regions of Northland and the Bay of Plenty, and the intensive pip and stonefruit regions of Hawkes Bay.

Pukekohe and Northland climates are typically very warm and humid from spring to autumn, with frequent rain. The east coast regions of the Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay are usually warm to hot, and dry from spring to autumn.

Crops in these regions include: citrus; a range of subtropicals such as, avocados, persimmon, feijoas, tamarillos, and kiwifruit; and popular pip and stonefruit varieties.