23 June 1995 Giant Carrot Raised Hopes Of Record!

Lincoln University Entomology and Animal Ecology Department doctoral student Wijayratnam Sivasubramanium, from Sri Lanka, thought he had a world record on his hands when working recently in the University's Horticultural Research Area. It was in the form of a giant carrot produced in the course of research into the control of carrot rust fly. Unfortunately a check of the Guinness Book of Records showed the 2.85kg monster, while very impressive, was actually quite a bit short of the mark.

However, New Zealand, if not Lincoln, does have the distinction of having produced the world record carrot – all 7 kilograms of it – grown in 1978 by a Miss I. G. Scott of Nelson.

Not one to give up, Subra believes he could still be in the running, with bigger and better ones yet to be harvested.

The large, commercial, cultivar carrot was produced in the course of Subra's Ph.D project which concerns the use of reduced rates of insecticide application for the control of carrot rust fly. The work is being supervised by Dr Steve Wratten and the ultimate aim is to produce a management strategy which will minimise pesticide inputs in the environment and enhance populations of the carrot rust fly's natural enemies.

Subra, from Sri Lanka, is in the third year of his Ph.D work which is supported by an MFAT Fees Scholarship, a Lincoln University Ph.D Scholarship and funding from Dow Elanco and Wattie Frozen Foods.

The project involves the first long-term monitoring of carrot fly populations in New Zealand and indications are that with higher predator survival under reduced-rate regimes, insecticide applications can be cut to 25 percent of recommended rates with no loss of control effectiveness.