Most Recent News

Release: Blackcurrants to help clear the mind

7 May 2013

A new study has shown that an extract of New Zealand blackcurrants enriched in anthocyanins can help people stay more alert, reduce mental fatigue and work with greater accuracy whilst under significant mental stress.

Release: Reducing rubbish by feeding the soil

1 May 2013

Research has shown that everyday kitchen scraps and garden waste can be used to increase the production of farmers' crops and reduce their need for conventional fertilisers.

Release: Enhancing the value of Vietnamese Dragon fruit

22 April 2013

Following the recent success working with fodder crops in Nepal, Plant & Food Research is set to begin collaborating on a new New Zealand Aid Programme funded 5-year project in Viet Nam.

Release: 'Fresh Facts' Shows Growth for NZ Horticulture

19 April 2013

New Zealand's horticulture sector continues to grow in spite of recent biological and economic challenges according to the latest edition of 'Fresh Facts'.

News Snap: Funding for potato starch food packaging

27 March 2013

Earthpac, a New Zealand company that manufactures compostable food packaging, has received $2.1 million from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund. The funding will help the company develop meat and vegetable food trays made from potato starch. Aspects of this technology were developed in association with Plant & Food Research scientists in the Biopolymer Network.

News Snap: Raspberry Shortcake™ released in USA

6 March 2013

A new dwarf raspberry cultivar 'NR7' has been released in the USA and has been noted by Better Homes magazine as an exciting variety in their New Fruit & Vegetables listing for 2013. The cultivar, marketed as Raspberry Shortcake™ is disease-resistant and thornless, grows to only 3 feet tall and self-pollinates. 'NR7' is currently marketed by Fall Creek Farm and Nursery under their home garden brand Brazelberries in the USA and Canada.

Release: Wanted dead or alive: bumblebee nests in the Waikato

6 March 2013

Scientists at Plant & Food Research are looking at where bumblebees like to nest - research that could provide valuable insight for pollinating crops in the Waikato region and beyond.

News Snap: Scientist recognised for service to industry

15 February 2013

Plant & Food Research’s Mike Malone has been awarded the Joe Bell Trophy by the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association for services to the summerfruit industry.

News Snap: Innovation leads to bite-sized kiwifruit

11 February 2013

A new fruit bred by Plant & Food Research was a finalist in the annual Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2013.

'Hortgem Tahi', one of the Institute's four new kiwiberry cultivars, marketed as NERGI® by French company Sofruileg, is a small grape-sized sweet tasting fruit with green flesh and a smooth, thin edible skin.

Photo: Cuddly caterpillar

18 January 2013

The larva of a Great White Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris brassicae.

Release: Meat and three veg diet may offer more than first thought

9 January 2013

New study may offer hope to those who love red meat but worry about the effect it may have on their gut, discovering more about the role vegetables may play in promoting healthy digestion of that next steak.

News Snap: Weta ears similar to whales

19 December 2012

Scientists at Plant & Food Research, working with researchers at The University of Auckland and University of Strathclyde in Scotland, have discovered that weta rely on a unique lipid for their hearing - whales are the only other creatures known to use lipids to hear. The research is published in the journal PLoS One.