New Zealanders are used to hearing about plant diseases that arrive here and wreak
havoc. More
Tuesday, 30 July 2019, 10:17 am | Bio Protection Research Centre
Cutting-edge science has revealed for the first time what microbes are lurking in
our soil – and that there are many more harmful ones on farms and in plantation
forests than in natural forests. More
Friday, 1 June 2018, 8:45 am | Bio Protection Research Centre
The recent arrival of myrtle rust in New Zealand has led many to question whether
our biosecurity system is really world-class, particularly in keeping plant diseases
out of the country. More
Monday, 7 May 2018, 4:01 pm | Bio Protection Research Centre
Thursday, 11 March 2021, 5:47 am
The world needs a new approach to biosecurity that can
identify and deal with potential pandemics however they
arise, says biosecurity expert Distinguished Professor
Philip Hulme.
Dist Prof Hulme, of the Bio-Protection
Research Centre, says COVID-19 has shown it’s time for a
holistic approach to biosecurity that integrates threats to
human, animal, plant and environmental health, recognising
that disease or invasions in one sector often spill over
into the others.
“The world is witnessing a global
rise in the number of emerging alien species, including
insect pests, noxious weeds as well as diseases of plants,
animals and humans. Currently there is no effective
Lopez Reyes began her PhD at the Bio-Protection Research Centre at Lincoln University in 2017, researching insect eyes. “I’m specifically studying Western Flower Thrips. They are 1mm long and the eyes are a tenth of that, around 100 microns.” “It’s a very damaging pest and it’s of economic importance here in New Zealand as it transmits viruses to many crops, especially in greenhouses.” Her work is in collaboration with other universities, so she left New Zealand last February to spend three weeks at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff
Lopez Reyes says she is thrilled to be back in New Zealand after a year of uncertainty.