The most comprehensive guide to New Zealand pasture diseases is now available from the Bio-Protection Research Centre.

The 144 page book, Pasture Diseases in New Zealand, commissioned by the Centre and written and illustrated by Ian and Ben Harvey, was published in November.

The Bio-Protection Research Centre is pleased to welcome 10 Summer Scholars. 

The students will be based at Lincoln, Massey and Auckland Universities and will begin their projects in mid-November. 

Summer Scholarships provide talented students with the opportunity to spend time in a research environment contributing to on-going projects and to get paid doing it! Each 10-week scholarship is valued at $5000 (tax free).

Professor Alison Stewart, Director of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, received the Insignia of a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to biology, in particular plant pathology at an investiture ceremony at Larnach Castle on 8 September. She received her medal from the Governor General, the Hon Sir Anand Satyanand.

The award recognises her work in developing microbial technologies that reduce plant disease and stimulate plant growth and the discovery of new genetic pathways in Trichoderma biocontrol agents.

The Bio-Protection Research Centre is offering 15 Summer Scholarships for research to be conducted during the 2009/2010 summer. These scholarships, worth $5,000 each, cover a range of bioprotection science topics from biological control to biodiesel, and provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to earn as they learn.

Programme co-ordinator Professor Phil Hulme says the Bio-Protection Research Centre is a firm believer in the transfer of skills to students and in building future research capacity for New Zealand's land-based industries. 

New Zealand scientists are part of an international research group which has gained U.S. Department of Energy funding to sequence the genome of Dothistroma, the fungus that causes red band pine needle disease.

Bio-Protection Research Centre scientist Dr Rosie Bradshaw from Massey University is part of the team which also includes researchers from North America and Europe. She says sequencing the Dothistroma genome will provide researchers with an increased understanding of the disease.

Bio-Protection Research Centre Deputy Director Prof Steve Wratten has won the PGG Wrightson Seeds 2009 Significant Achievement Award in Agriculture/ Horticulture for his work on the Greening Waipara project.

The judges were impressed by the combination of research, technology development, technology transfer, marketing and community involvement in the project, which now includes around 50 Waipara properties, three biodiversity trails and formal links with Hurunui District Council.

Professor Alison Stewart, Director of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in recognition of her services to biology, in particular plant pathology.

Professor Stewart says the appointment came as a complete surprise and that she fully appreciates the honour.

As countries in the European Union struggle to deal with an ever-increasing stream of invasive plant and animal species, they could do well to look to New Zealand for biosecurity advice.

That's the opinion of Prof Philip Hulme of the Bio-Protection Research Centre at Lincoln University whose paper "Will Threat of Biological Invasions Unite the European Union?" appears in the prestigious Science¹ publication this week.

Bio-Protection Research Centre Board member Chris Kelly and Biosecurity Theme co-leader Stephen Goldson have made The Listener magazine’s 2008 Power List.

A former Bio-Protection Research Centre PhD student has developed an environmentally-friendly treatment for an infection that causes significant revenue losses for the forestry industry, winning recognition at tonight's MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year Awards.

Rotorua scientist Dr Tripti Singh's research targets blue stain fungi, an infection that discolours radiata pine logs soon after harvest and is estimated to cost forestry exporters up to NZ$100 million a year. She is runner-up in the Awards' Adding Value to Nature category.