Discovery that the main cause of nitrogen
run-offs into Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti is not nitrogen fertiliser but
cow urine.
Successfully developed and applied RNA interference
(RNAi) technology in animal parasites to discover new drug targets.
Our Animal Health section is the first in the world to develop and productively
use this technology in nematode parasites.
Developing erosion-resilient and environmentally
in-tune farming systems.
In a world-first, Animal Health scientists
have showed that a transgenic parasite can infect possums. This is a
key step towards developing novel possum control strategies.
Helping to deliver the highly successful ForageMaster
workshops to deer and dairy farmers.
Release of Ireland’s tiny parasitic wasp
Microctonus aethiopoides to control clover root weevil infestations
in the North and South islands.
Patented an entirely novel bacterial species,
and its toxins, as a potential agent for insect biocontrol.
Campyvax3 was registered by the ACVM after
five years work by Animal Health scientists and substantial investment
by AgVax.
Working with Dexcel to develop major new R&D
programmes for the dairy industry. AgResearch is lead provider for the
Feed portfolio and research leader for the Environment portfolio.
The development of a mathematical model to
describe the growth of micro-organism Erwinia carotovora that
is found in vegetable juice. This can be used to estimate shelf-life
and optimise distribution networks.
Major fertiliser companies are using the Overseer
nutrient budget model that has been extended to accommodate the nutrients
N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Na and acidity. Overseer acts as a decision-support
tool - predicting the response of different soil types to different
nutrient applications under different conditions.
