AgResearch scientists are making a major contribution to the 13th annual Australasian Plant Breeding Conference in Christchurch this week, the largest conference of its kind to be held in New Zealand for 20 years.

Dr Derek Woodfield, who is chairing the organising committee and will open the conference with a presentation highlighting the successes and challenges facing plant breeding in New Zealand, was instrumental in bringing the conference to New Zealand after it was dominated by Australia for two decades.

About 350 scientists from 13 countries will attend the AgResearch sponsored conference at Christchurch’s Convention Centre, starting tonight with an AgResearch welcome function and finishing on Friday.

“This is the first time, despite it being an Australasian conference, that it has been held in New Zealand.  It is also the first time since 1986 that there has been a major plant breeding conference which focuses on all the primary production sectors that drive New Zealand’s economy,” Dr Woodfield, the legume improvement group team leader at AgResearch’s Grasslands campus in Palmerston North, said.

“Production from these areas, such as agriculture, forestry, horticulture, and the like, are responsible for nearly 65 per cent of all New Zealand’s overseas earnings, and an increasing proportion of GDP,” he added.

“In terms of plant breeding in New Zealand, the challenges as I see it are poor funding for some of the long term science required to develop innovative products – there is certainly a gap there between having an idea and getting it to concept stage.

“Secondly, the regulatory framework in New Zealand puts significant constraints on access to new genetic material. The whole economy is based on plant species that have been introduced from overseas but at the moment the regulations make it very difficult and expensive to bring new genetic material into New Zealand.”

The conference will see a massive 90 crops covered by the 220 presentations, including those from 12 international speakers, providing a depth and diversity to the conference that has thrilled Dr Woodfield.

“We have brought the very best national and international experts in this field together in this forum in order to provide the tools and framework for the future development of our plant-based primary industries,” he said.