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Plant Producer Science & Innovation Summit

A step change towards a new plant technology platform for New Zealand plant producers

ROTORUA

4 & 5 MAY 2017

It’s time to kick start NZPPI’s science, innovation and

technology strategy, and we need your help.

A key factor to industry health and wealth is a sound

technology platform. It drives productivity, and its benefits are

widely recognised:

• The avocado industry’s worth nearly $200 million – in

2014 they leveraged $4.28 million in government money

for their “Go Global” programme – it’s generating massive

improvements in productivity and industry returns

• New Zealand’s wine industry exports around $1.6 billion

worth of wine – driven by a $10 million annual R&D

budget

• The kiwifruit industry’s exports hit $1.7 billion in 2016 –

again built on a strong R&D platform of some $20 million

per annum

The plant producer industry’s R&D spend and its share of

government’s $2 billion science budget?

Not much, and nowhere near enough however it’s measured.

We’re worth around $500 million, and the models above show

that together we could be attracting, leveraging and investing

at least $3-4 million per annum into R&D.

Research revolution in

plant production

NZPPI’s mandate includes a strong R&D

emphasis and you’re invited to join us in

Rotorua for a two-day science and

innovation fest.

Speakers are drawn from a who’s who in

plant and plant production science and

innovation … and discussion includes:

• A large SE Asia nursery became

fungicide-free using kiwi ingenuity.

• CRIs and Universities want to use

government funds to work on new

science projects for PPI, but they just

need to know what we want!

• There are opportunities to use science

and technology to reduce waste stream

issues and for nurseries to become more

sustainable.

• New science can speed up the PEQ

process and save time and money.

• Robots and automation are being

developed to make nurseries more

productive.

• Endophytes can revolutionise the

nursery industry as they have for pasture

grasses.

• New and rapid tools for detecting

pathogens – even in irrigation water.

Speaker, programme & registration

details over the page … register now, and

we’ll see you there!

• to

All

Programme – Thursday 4 May

9:30 Tea and coffee

10:00 Welcome - introduction to workshop Andrew Harrsion, Independent Chair, NZPPI Board

10:10 Health and safety briefing

10:15 Keynote Presentation: New plant cultivar production through innovation … followed by open discussion

John Caradus, CEO Grasslanz Technology “Endophytes can revolutionise the nursery industry as they have for pasture grasses”

11:00 What's driving innovation in the nursery industry - now and in the future? … followed by discussion on key drivers

Geoff Thorpe – Riversun Vince Wylaars - Zealandia Richard Beaumont - Ardmore

12:15 The threat of myrtle rust to New Zealand and how science is contributing to our preparedness

Beccy Ganley, Scion Research Leader, B3 “Myrtle rust is potentially a ticking time bomb”

12:30 Lunch – sponsored by Kauri Park Nurseries

1:20 Painting the complicated science funding landscape

Kat Webb, Scion Business Development Manager

Nicky Molloy, Business Innovation Advisor, Callaghan Innovation

2:00 Scion's initiatives in new plant production technology

Heidi Dungey, Scion Science Leader "Scion’s plans to automate propagation systems and nurseries”

2:30 What areas of science and technology have significant potential to drive innovation in the nursery industry?

Ed Morgan, Plant and Food Research Science Leader “We can make nurseries far more sustainable than what they are!”

3:00 Discussion

3:15 Tea break

3:45 Kiwi ingenuity leads to fungicide-free nurseries

Robert Hill - Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln “A large SE Asia nursery became fungicide-free using kiwi ingenuity”

4:15 The brave new world of nursery production

Mike Duke, University Waikato “Robots and automation are being developed to make nurseries more productive”

4:40 Discussion

5:00 Wrapping up the Summit for the day … … & the plan for Friday morning

5:30 NZPPI sector discussions breakout Catch up with NZPPI Board sector members to help shape how producer sectors work, what’s important to them, what they want from NZPPI and their Board member, how they and NZPPI communicate

7:00 Optional dinner gathering – own cost Abracadabra Café & Bar - 1263 Amohia Street, Rotorua

Plant Producer Science & Innovation Summit

A step change towards a new plant technology platform for New Zealand plant producers

ROTORUA - 4 & 5 MAY 2017

We gratefully acknowledge the support of AGMARDT

Programme – Friday 5 May

Field Visits – Scion and Timberland

We split into two teams for the visits to Scion’s facilities and Timberland’s nursery. At 8am, one team heads to Timberland, the other starts at Scion.

Each visit above is scheduled for around 90 minutes and at around 9:45am Team 2 will head to Timberlands, and at 10am Team 1 will head to Scion.

8:00 Team 1 – Board your bus from 7:45am. It will be at Scion, in front of the Scion café, and will leave at 8am sharp.

Visit Timberland’s-state-of-the-art containerised nursery.

This plant has a rolling bench system built by Dutch company KG Systems and machinery built by Italian company Urbinati. The Nursery also has lab producing clones using Somatic Embryogenesis.

Team 2 – meet at Scion Reception for an 8am start,

Visit Scion’s facilities to demonstrate advanced molecular technologies, both for rapid biosecurity diagnostics, but also for assisting growers select the cultivars with specific properties to target conditions and markets.

Stop 1 - Nursery

a. Polyhouse and "Phytofree" nursery. 15 min.

b. GMO trial - GMO vs Gene editing and opportunities for breeding. 15min.

Stop 2 - Rimu Room

a. Molecular Diagnostic Tools and Genomics - Rebecca McDougal / Genomics. 15min.

b. Optimisation of nursery management with mycorrhizal fungi. 15min.

Back at Scion

12:00 Lunch

1:00 What are key issues for plant production that can be addressed by science and technology?

Getting down to work … small group workshops will report back and their key messages will be later incorporated in a NZPPI Science Strategy that will be used to direct research funds of both government and plant producer industry.

2:30 Report back, action, and wrap up To finish by 3:30pm