New Zealand Scientists Spread Knowledge To Farmers On Costly Pasture Diseases, Biosecurity Threats

WELLINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Mar, 2024) New Zealand agriculture scientists want to plug a major knowledge gap on diseases in pasture, and address biosecurity threats, by reaching out to farmers.

The pathogens, or germs, that cause diseases in pasture plants such as crown rust and clover rot can have significant costs for farmers and the New Zealand economy, and in a changing climate the concern is that those losses will escalate, said AgResearch, a government institute studying New Zealand's pastoral, agri-food and agri-technology sectors.

"By building our knowledge around pasture diseases, we are helping raise the awareness and preparedness for threats to New Zealand's biosecurity, including the risk of new disease-causing organisms that could invade New Zealand," AgResearch science team leader Kwasi Adusei-Fosu, said on Friday.

There is a real gap in awareness and understanding about current diseases and the impact they are having on pastures, as well as potential future impacts, said Adusei-Fosu.

"The lag could be because study of the impact of pasture diseases is more speculative in nature, poorly understood or neglected," he said, adding the last time New Zealand's formal research on this topic was reviewed was in 1996, and before then in 1965.