Ag&Ed

Volume 124 I September 26th, 2022 I email:agined@agrihq.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined

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WEEDS, WEEDS, WEEDS

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT VARROA MITES

STRETCH YOURSELF:

Weeds are an ongoing issue for farmers and things have been compounded by recent discontinuation of certain herbicides and supply issues with others.

Interestingly from as far back as the 1890’s agronomists have been theorising that electricity could be used to shock weeds and halt growth. Original inventions were unwieldy, large and dangerous.

However, a Massey University PHD student and professor has proven that small doses of electricity can provide good control of a variety of weeds across New Zealand pastures and crops. Varroa mites are a large concern to beekeepers and can cause widespread devastation to hives. In the USA they have developed RNA technology to target the varroa mite to find out more follow this link https://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=2YdM54bRZGw

1 Do some research, in NZ are varroa mites a large issue? 2 In NZ what is currently used to combat varroa mites? 3 What is RNA? 4 How does using RNA technology give us the ability to How does using RNA technology give us the ability to target just bees and not affect other insects? 5 How long have they been testing this technology?

How effective is it? 6 When is this technology expected to be internationally available?

To read more head to: https://www.farmersweekly. co.nz/electric-shocks-could-give-peskyweeds-the-zap/?utm_source=AgriHQ&utm_ campaign=69938dd0cf-EMAIL_ CAMPAIGN_2022_09_12_03_50&utm_ medium=email&utm_term=0_4f497899e669938dd0cf-82897495

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U.S. beekeepers lose approximately 40% of their honey bee colonies each year. The varroa mite is a leading cause of honey bee mortality.

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ALL ABOUT BEES

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1 Why are weeds a problem in crops and pastures? Why are weeds a problem in crops and pastures? 2 There was a surge in interest in “weed zapping” in the 1970’s and 1980’s, what happened to make interest subside?

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STRETCH YOURSELF:

1 Glyphosates have been a mainstay of many productive land users. Do some research, how does glyphosate work? 2 Why has there been some movement away from the use of glyphosate? 3 AgResearch’s lead scientist Trevor James says that weed resistance is increasing at rates that exceed expectations. What is weed resistance? 4 How is Bloomers method different from previous electric weed control? 5 Why may weeds in pasture be harder to target compared to crops? 6 Why does James believe that Bloomers machine has potential? 7 What are some of the other options being studied under AgResearch’s resistance programme? 1 What are varroa mites? 2 How do they affect bees?

ACROSS

6 Person who takes care of bees 8 Box used in hive to hold honey 13 Wax that is made into storage cells 15 Female bee, not the queen, who lays eggs 17 Where bees live 18 Place where bees are raised 23 Scientific name for bees 24 Wax cells where honey is stored 26 Made into honey

DOWN

1 Where bees raise young 2 Group of 20,000-60,000 bees 3 Bee protein source 4 Covers your head and face 5 Male bee 7 Keeps Queen out of the honeycomb 9 Type of a bee’s life cycle 10 Honey to a bee 11 Finding food 12 Colony splits to form new colony 14 Midsection of a bee’s body 16 Used to pry hive parts apart for hive inspections 19 Third stage of bee life cycle 20 Bee 21 Keeps bees sedated when opening hive 22 Keeps bees from stinging you when you are working with the hive 25 Small apparatus that injects poison into an enemy from the bee’s body

HIVETOOL THORAX SWARM FORAGE CARBOHYDRATES METAMORPHIC 16 14 12 11 10 9 QUEENXCLUDER DRONE VEIL 7 5 4 We know that wines are savoured for their variations of sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol and body and these are influenced by environmental factors where the grapes are grown. It is hoped that soon there will be a similarly descriptive taste vocabulary for New Zealand honey.

Manuka honey is well known and is a high value export product. It is hoped that the “Flower to flavour” project will give other varieties the same opportunity. Head to https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/

research-to-put-honeys-taste-on-tongues/

and then answer the following questions: 1 What makes manuka honey different from other varieties? 2 What are researchers aiming to find out? 3 What will they be collecting? What are they extracting? What are they measuring from this? 4 What is the issue with labelling honey based on taste?

Why is it problematic? 5 What will they use to analyse the chemical profile of the nectar’s? How do these work? 6 How many flowers are they hoping to collect samples from? Why would they need this many?

From the ground up - Rebecca Greaves from Young Country takes a closer look at those who have dared to think big, push the limits and give it a go in business. Asking them what the catalyst was to take the plunge and make a change.

Finding out how they got to where they are now, what they’ve learned along the way, and what their advice is to other aspiring agri-innovators. In this edition Rebecca talks to Delwyn Tuanui from the Chatham Island Food Co and how he chased his dreams from the ground up. From running around Melbourne with a chilly bin of blue cod, knocking on the doors of the city’s best chefs, he knew that he had a top class product. To listen follow this link: https://open.spotify.com/epis

ode/01ScnDBO5W2YcSLJhDf8y2?si=4f872598e33742b 5&fbclid=IwAR1a3ICwqeCmEZX35RS3kVtpNGxrlCMvn xUOI33I-MWlP5qqBV4H13JJszU&nd=1

1 What does Chatham Island Food Co produce? 2 What are some of the unique challenges of living and working in the Chathams? 3 What was the catalyst that started Chatham Island

Food Co and saw Delwyn return to study? 4 What course did Delwyn undertake in Melbourne? 5 How did he manage to get the Chatham Island blue cod in front of the best chefs in Melbourne? 6 What was the turnaround time from freshly caught in the Chathams to on plate in Melbourne? 7 What award did they win?