New Zealand
September, 2008
Source:
Digest - Crop & Food Research's quarterly newsletter, Issue
62, 2008
Crop & Food Research
is embarking on a project to reduce the environmental impact of
intensive farming by developing cultivars with high-performance
root systems for pastures and crops.
The project will use conventional breeding and molecular
technologies to achieve significant improvements in root
performance for New Zealand’s major pastoral (ryegrass and white
clover) and arable (wheat, barley, oats, peas) crops in terms of
water uptake, nutrient use, soil structure modification and pest
control.
The aim is to develop plants with much-improved root systems
that require less water, pesticides and fertiliser, enabling New
Zealand to compete strongly in overseas markets where consumers
are increasingly demanding ‘green’ food products.
The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology is investing
$7.5 million over five years in the ‘Roots for Sustainability’
project.
Crop & Food Research chief executive Mark Ward says the new
investment represents a significant commitment to enhancing New
Zealand’s plant breeding capabilities.
Part of the investment supports a national germplasm collection
which contains important material with which to develop new
crops with new root systems.
“New Zealand’s food exports depend on access to quality crops,
produced sustainably, and so this work underpins New Zealand’s
ability to continue to increase its exports of quality foods.”
Crop & Food Research estimates that $149 million a year will be
added to New Zealand agriculture through reduced input costs
such as irrigation, fertiliser and pesticides, and improved
productivity of dryland systems and marginal soils via water
uptake efficacy, nutrient recycling and soil structure
modification.
The research is a collaborative effort between Crop & Food
Research and AgResearch and will also build on existing
significant collaborations with CSIRO Plant Industry, Australia. |
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