13 July 1992 From Schooldays in Nelson to Kiwifruit Research at Lincoln University

A masters degree research project at Lincoln University is the latest activity in an expanding involvement with kiwifruit for Nelson-born Anne Rose, aged 22.

The former pupil of Golden Bay High School and Nelson College for Girls, already has a Bachelor of Science degree from Canterbury University and is now furthering her studies with a Master of Science degree in Plant Pathology at Lincoln.

Under the supervision of plant pathologist Dr Roy Gaunt, Anne will be helping with research on the role of the New Zealand flower thrip, a small insect pest, in the spread of Botrytis cinerea, in kiwifruit. The work may also extend to the role of honey bees in spreading the infection.

Botrytis cinerea is implicated with stem end rot disease during storage, a major and costly problem in kiwifruit at the moment. It is not fully understood how the disease has arisen but there are several groups working on it including scientists at Lincoln University and The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of NZ Ltd (formerly part of MAF).

The disease Botrytis cinerea is known to cause stem end rot and some of the research is looking at the role of thrips in its transmission. The thrips being investigated damage flowers and predispose them to infection. They may also act as carriers of botrytis spores and infect those flowers which are predisposed to infection by damage. However, there is still a lot of work to be done on the significance of the link and Anne will be working with the teams looking into this.

The overall aim of current efforts is to identify where the stem end rot fungus is coming from.

Anne worked with kiwifruit at the former MAFTech, Lincoln, on a part-time basis while studying for her bachelor's degree and last summer she also worked with Lincoln University members of the kiwifruit team.

The daughter of Fran and the late Pat Rose of Takaka, Anne comes from a farming and horticultural background. The family dairy farm at Takaka also has several hectares in kiwifruit and there is a packhouse on the property.

As her research gathers pace Anne expects to be doing field work at a number of locations including Riwaka Research Station, close to home.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand