December 3rd, 2015A new Scion-led MBIE programme, Protecting New Zealand’s primary sector from plant pests: a toolkit for the urban battlefield, has recently been funded.
KEEPING THE BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG OUT OF NEW ZEALAND
December 1st, 2015
KEEPING OUR UNIQUE FAUNA SAFE FROM HARM
October 2nd, 2015Understanding the potential risks to New Zealand’s invertebrate fauna will allow regulators to better assess new biological control agents before they are released into the New Zealand environment.
WHERE ARE WE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PHYTOPHTHORA?
October 1st, 2015Scientists across Scion, Landcare Research, Plant and Food Research and universities involved in the Better Border Biosecurity (B3) collaboration, are at the forefront of the battle to stop virulent Phytophthora pathogens from entering New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND CONTRIBUTES TO FRUIT FLY RESEARCH
August 28th, 2015Scientists from Plant & Food Research are working to protect New Zealand borders from future incursions of the Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) and support control of populations in areas of eastern Australia where it is a major pest of horticultural crops.
A NEW ZEALAND LINK TO THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
By A NEW ZEALAND LINK TO THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW May 25th, 2015A national science collaboration, Better Border Biosecurity (B3), that involves four New Zealand Crown Research Institutes and Lincoln University, will play a small but important part in showcasing the biosecurity expertise of scientists to gardeners of the world.
PROTECTION FROM A STINKY PROBLEM
May 19th, 2015Scientists are working together with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and industry to limit the potential for a new pest to establish in New Zealand – the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB).
STUDENT PREPARING FOR TREE RUST
March 5th, 2015Aotearoa New Zealand constantly faces threats from overseas to our economy, ecosystems and way of life.
NEW ZEALAND ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE AWARDS
December 9th, 2014Ursula Torres received the "Resilience" award for her talk at the NZ Ecological Society Conference 16-20 November 2014, Palmerston North.
NEW ZEALAND ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE AWARDS
December 9th, 2014Kevin Chase, our University of Canterbury PhD student, won the "Best student talk (presentation) on understanding invasive species" award at the New Zealand Ecological Society conference held at Massey University in mid-November.
THE INAUGURAL B3 CONFERENCE 2014
August 15th, 2014“TEN YEARS ON – ADDING VALUE TO NEW ZEALAND’S PLANT BIOSECURITY SYSTEM THROUGH RESEARCH”
BUTTERFLY ERADICATION PROGRAM SHOWS ENCOURAGING SIGNS OF PROGRESS
July 29th, 2014In May 2010, a species of butterfly never before recorded in New Zealand was discovered in a home garden near the Port of Nelson.
VISITING LUMINARY GIVES EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE ON BIOSECURITY RISK ASSESSMENT
April 15th, 2014In August 2013, B3 sponsored a visit by ‘luminary’ John Mumford, Professor of Natural Resource Management at Imperial College London, United Kingdom to continue B3’s association with the leading European biosecurity research project known as PRATIQUE (Pest Risk Assessment Techniques).
LANDCARE RESEARCH JOINS B3 COLLABORATION
February 25th, 2014In June 2013, Landcare Research joined the Better Border Biosecurity (B3) collaboration, enabling B3 to provide an even more coordinated and integrated approach to terrestrial plant border biosecurity.
B3 SYMPOSIUM LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL PLANT SENTINEL NETWORK
February 13th, 2014In October this year, the International Plant Sentinel Network (IPSN) was officially launched at the 5th Global Botanic Gardens Congress hosted by the Dunedin Botanic Gardens.
DEVELOPING TESTING REGIMES FOR THE IMPORTATION OF NEW MICROBIAL BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS
October 22nd, 2013As part of the B3: Better Border Biosecurity’s Risk Assessment Theme, Dr Kirstin McLean, a scientist at the Bio-Protection Research Centre, has recently completed research that will help regulatory agencies assess the potential impacts of new microbial biocontrol agents on native ecosystems.
B3 COLLABORATES WITH OpERA ON ECO INVERTEBASE FOR BIOSAFETY RESEARCH
August 30th, 2013A unique and comprehensive database called Eco Invertebase is helping New Zealand and overseas scientists to test the impact of various stressors such as biological control agents on native and valued introduced invertebrates.
Biogeochemical markers help determine point of origin for insect pest incursions
August 9th, 2013“Has it just arrived or not?” and “Where is it from?” are questions biosecurity officials often ask when an exotic insect invader is discovered in New Zealand.
ADVANCES IN AERIAL SPRAYING CONTRIBUTE TO ERADICATION OF INSECT PESTS
November 27th, 2012Dr. Tara Strand monitors the aerial spray field trial completed to quantify the interaction between the aircraft wake under different operating conditions (combinations of helicopter type, release height, and flying speed) and the pergola canopy.
INTERNATIONAL PLANT SENTINEL NETWORK HELPS IDENTIFY POTENTIAL INVASIVE PESTS
November 8th, 2012It is estimated that 30-40% of the plant species grown in botanic gardens around the world are exotic species that originate from a different country or even landmass.
B3 RESEARCHERS PRESENT AT 24TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ENTOMOLOGY
October 30th, 2012In August, a group of B3 researchers travelled to Daegu, South Korea to present papers on their research at the 24th International Congress of Entomology.
TRAP CAMERAS COULD HELP EARLY PEST DETECTION
October 18th, 2012Surveillance for the early detection of invasive species is costly and imperfect.
PROJECT QUANTIFIES ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF PHYTOSANITARY POLICY
August 13th, 2012Forest insects that travel the world via global trade can easily become serious pests outside their native home.
PAVING THE WAY FOR BETTER COLLABORATION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PLANTS BIOSECURITY: A RESEARCH CONSUMER’S PERSPECTIVE ON PARTNERSHIP WITH RESEARCH.
July 26th, 2012As one of the three end-user partners of the Better Border Biosecurity (B3) research programme, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), formerly Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), has an important role in helping to shape priorities and ensure that research output is directed towards achieving practical and significant outcomes.
USING DIAGNOSTIC MARKERS FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF CROP DISEASES
June 28th, 2012A team of researchers led by Dr Kerry Everett at Plant and Food Research is using diagnostic markers to quickly detect horticultural diseases in New Zealand, preventing their further spread and enabling New Zealand exporters to maintain market access overseas.
HOW CAN WE USE AND MANAGE OUR RESOURCES – BIOSECURITY
June 14th, 2012Speech by Dr Stephen Goldson, Strategy Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister’s Science Advisory Committee and the Director of the Better Border Biosecurity Collaboration to the Transit of Venus Forum Gisborne, 7 June 2012
EUROPEAN UNION BIOSECURITY EXPERT SHARES LESSONS LEARNED WITH NEW ZEALAND SCIENTISTS
May 1st, 2012In March, Dr Richard Baker, the coordinator and science leader for a leading European biosecurity research programme known as PRATIQUE (Pest Risk Assessment Techniques), visited New Zealand to discuss the initiative he has been leading and lessons from this work that are applicable to this country.
UNDERSTANDING THE BIOSECURITY HAZARDS POSED BY SOIL ON FOOTWEAR
March 23rd, 2012If you have travelled to New Zealand from overseas, you will probably know the time and energy that border officials spend to clean footwear and other items carried by passengers.
NEW TEST HELPS MAF DETERMINE PEST ORGANISM VIABILITY AT THE BORDER
March 2nd, 2012You might assume that the biggest problem border officials face is identifying foreign organisms in order to determine whether they pose a biosecurity risk.
TECHNIQUE FOR RAPID ASSESSMENT OF HOST ACCEPTANCE BY SAP-SUCKING INSECT INVADERS
January 24th, 2012Determining the degree to which an insect species feeds on different plant species is a critical test for biosecurity.
Molecular research helps scientists combat kiwifruit disease
December 21st, 2011Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) is a bacterial pathogen that causes the widespread death of kiwifruit vines.
NEW TECHNIQUE USES SEX AS A WEAPON TO ERADICATE INSECT PESTS
October 26th, 2011B3’s Eradication and Response Theme aims to develop new insect pest eradication tools that will be effective as well as economically viable and socially acceptable.
DNA Barcoding Helps Protect New Zealand Borders
October 18th, 2011Imagine if it was possible to identify any species instantly, simply by scanning it in the same way a loaf of bread is scanned at the supermarket checkout.
Interaction between science and policy: an essential driver for integrity and performance in New Zealand’s environment and economy
May 19th, 2011Speech by Dr Stephen Goldson, Strategy Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister’s Science Advisory Committee, to the MAF Policy, Science and Economics conference, 5 May 2011
BCANZ website provides valuable tool for managing introduced organisms
May 18th, 2011The Biological Control Agents introduced to New Zealand (BCANZ) database is now available to help regulators and researchers find information on biological control agents that have been introduced to New Zealand to help manage weed and invertebrate pests.
Reflections on the process of Māori consultation as part an application to release a biological control agent
By Lisa Berndt (Scion) May 18th, 2011The programme ‘Better Border Biosecurity’ (B3) is a partnership between research providers (AgResearch, Plant and Food Research, Scion and Lincoln University) and end users (MAF BNZ, ERMA New Zealand, Department of Conservation and the Forest Biosecurity Research Council).
