The Experts

The right rhizobia

9 August 2021

With farmers under pressure to reduce fertiliser nitrogen (N) inputs, a team of AgResearch scientists, supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, DairyNZ, KiwiNet, and Grasslanz Technology, has been investigating an opportunity to match superior strains of rhizobia with modern white clover cultivars to improve biological nitrogen fixation (BNF).

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The Experts

To eat wheat: local or imported?

9 August 2021

Most of us eat grains every day, in bread, cereals, biscuits, pasta and more. But do you know where the grain in this food has come from – or more specifically, the wheat? Ivan Lawrie is Arable Food Industry Council (AFIC) Chairman, and Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) General Manager of Business Operations. He’s followed the story of milling wheat in New Zealand for many years. Here he sets the record straight about milling wheat in New Zealand and introduces a project aimed at improving gr

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The Experts

Elementary essentials #4: Sulphur (S)

9 August 2021

The non-metallic element sulphur (S) is the 16th element in the periodic table and is one of the 19 elements essential for life in all higher plants and animals on Earth. Sulphur ranks ninth in abundance among the elements. Sulphur, after calcium and phosphorus, is the third most abundant mineral element in mammalian bodies.

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The Experts

Can gibberellic acid substitute nitrogen fertiliser?

9 August 2021

As farmers seek new ways to maintain pasture production and feed supply under ‘capped’ nitrogen (N) fertiliser, alternatives such as gibberellic acid (GA) should be explored. As part of a series of experiments exploring opportunities to use GA in dairy farm systems, Lincoln University PhD student Melanie Miller asked questions about the timing and application rate of GA and whether farmers can partially substitute N fertiliser applications for GA to maintain feed supply. Melanie’s research is su

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