New funding to support horticultural exports

Plant & Food Research is pleased to be able to work with partners on three new Sustainable Farming Fund projects.

Onions New Zealand will lead a project that will monitor crop development to find ways to maintain high yields and quality for export. The project will develop agronomic models and grower decision support tools that trace crops from paddock through to postharvest and identify factors during growth that may influence quality and yield variability.

Another project, led by the Foundation for Arable Research and with Potatoes New Zealand, is anticipated to lead to a 12% increase in potato yields by increasing soil health. The project will look at how potato crops could be incorporated into existing crop rotation practices on dairy farms as well as the benefits of introducing crop rotation in potato fields.

Pipfruit New Zealand is leading a project to ensure apple exports meet the requirements of high value markets. The project will integrate data from growers’ spray diaries, weather records and orchard factors to understand factors contributing to rot risk and its mitigation.

The Sustainable Farming Fund is managed by the Ministry for Primary Industries and supports the financial, environmental and social performance of New Zealand’s land-based, marine and aquaculture sectors. This year, 29 projects, from a pool of 61 applications, received a total of $7.8 million over four years from the Fund and $16.3 million from industry co-investment.