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Society News

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NZPPS member Dame Alison Stewart has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand for “a lifetime commitment to the control of plant diseases using beneficial fungus Trichoderma”.

The New Zealand Plant Protection Society (NZPPS) is co-hosting the 24th Australasian Weeds Conference (AWC), to be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, from 23–27 August 2026.

The 2025 NZ Plant Protection Medal was awarded to AgResearch Emeritus scientist Stephen Goldson at the Society’s conference in August.

NZPPS member Emeritus Distinguished Professor Alison Stewart CNZM has been made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 King’s birthday honours for services to plant science and the arable sector.

Sarah van Amsterdam, a PhD student at Auckland University and AgResearch Ltd (Left) and Friederike Espinoza, a PhD student at Lincoln University (Right) have been awarded the 2024 NZPPS Research Scholarship and the 2024 Dan Watkins Scholarship in Weed Science funded by a George Mason Endowment Gift respectively.

Ian Harvey of PLANTwise was awarded the 2024 NZPP Medal at the Society’s conference last month.——

Sadly, NZPPS benefactor George Mason has died. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/527984/noted-taranaki-philanthropist-george-mason-dies——

The NZPPS has joined the the Save Science Coalition, which is being organised by the New Zealand Association of Scientists. Read their July 2024 report about Science under Threat——

2022 NZPP Medal co-recipient Dr Brian Richardson has been awarded the 2024 Minister’s Biosecurity Award. Read more at: https://www.thisisus.nz/news-events/biosecurity-awards/winners-and-finalists/2024-winners-and-finalists/——

The deadline for abstracts for the 23rd Australasian Weeds Conference is has been extended to 7 March 2024.

NZPPS Corporate member, the Environmental Protection Authority, has opened a preliminary consultation on selected synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) used in Aotearoa New Zealand. Visit the consultation web page https://www.epa.govt.nz/public-consultations/open-consultations/synthetic-pyrethroids-reassessment/ for more information. The consultation closes at 5:00pm on Thursday 29 February 2024.

Josh van der Weyden from Plant & Food Research received the Emerging Speaker Award at the 2023 NZPPS conference.

2020 NZPPS AGM

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Wednesday 2 September 2020 1pm-3pmC1, Commerce Building, Lincoln University

We are required to hold an Annual General Meeting to present the audited accounts to 30 April 2020 so we are proposing to hold a brief one on Wednesday 2 September at Lincoln University from 1pm to 3pm.

We are asking our Canterbury members to attend the AGM in person so that we can achieve a quorum, which requires 15 people. Refreshments will be provided after the AGM. We also plan to use Zoom so members can log in and participate if they wish.

We will present only the reports from the President, Treasurer, Editor and Web-Editor plus Election of Officers in order to keep the AGM to within two hours. The reports will be loaded on the NZPPS website www.nzpps.org for members to view from 17 August 2020.

Election of Officers:  As is normally done at the AGM, we are calling for nominations for membership of the Executive Committee and the Offices of the Society (President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary). All nominations require a seconder and an accompanying statement about the nominee. Please email Jenny Taylor for the nomination form by 7 August 2020 so we can organise an election if needed secretary@nzpps.org.

If you have any general business that cannot be held over to the 2021 AGM then please email details to Jenny Taylor secretary@nzpps.org by 7 August 2020. This time frame will enable the Executive to decide whether any such matters should be put to the AGM or discussed at the first Executive meeting after the AGM. NZPPS Medal and NZPPS Travel Award: We are not asking for nominations for the 2020 NZPPS Medal or the NZPPS Travel Award as we are not holding an annual dinner this year. You are still welcome to make a nomination but it will be considered in the 2021 award round.

NZPPS 2020 Conference Postponed to August 2021

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Due to Covid-19, the NZPPS Executive has decided to postpone the 73rd NZPPS Conference and associated symposium until August 2021. Please note this change in your diaries.

The response from members submitting conference abstracts has been excellent this year with 58 abstracts received to date and a further 21 promised. Obviously, it is very disappointing that the corresponding presentations won’t be delivered this year but we look forward to these presentations at the 2021 conference instead.

To keep the Society active during these turbulent times, we encourage authors of conference abstracts to prepare a manuscript on their work and submit it to New Zealand Plant Protection as soon as possible at https://journal.nzpps.org/index.php/nzpp/about/submissions. All papers published in this year’s journal will automatically be eligible for presentation at the 2021 conference. We also welcome manuscript submissions from other members.

The Executive is in discussion about the best way to hold the NZPPS 2020 Annual General Meeting and will let members know in due course how we plan to proceed. 

Keep safe everyone.

 Kind regards,

Dr Eirian Jones

President, NZPPS

Where are they now? – Ronny Groenteman

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NZPPS have been awarding the Dan Watkins Scholarship in Weed Science since 2006.

Dan Watkins was a leading figure in the early weed science research arena within New Zealand. He was a founder of the New Zealand Weeds Conference (forerunner of the New Zealand Plant Protection Society), a member of the New Zealand National Research Council and was involved with other scientific bodies. This scholarship has been set up in memory of Dan Watkins and to recognise his contribution to weed science within New Zealand.

Dr Ronny Groenteman received the Dan Watkins Scholarship in Weed Science in 2007

Measuring nodding thistle rosette to study response to herbivory by crown-root weevil

“When I received the Dan Watkins Scholarship in Weed Science in 2007 I was at the final stages of my PhD on interactions between the three biocontrol agents of nodding thistle, Carduus nutans.

After completing my PhD I was fortunate to gain employment in my area of interest, weed biocontrol, at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. I started as a post-doctoral fellow, then junior scientist, and now I am a research leader. My group at Manaaki Whenua works on applied weed biocontrol as well as on fundamental science to improve safety and effectiveness of biocontrol practices. As the cycles go, I am now supervising a PhD student working on nodding thistle biocontrol. She uses the same study system to ask questions about evolutionary trajectories under herbivory pressure.

Over the years I also enjoyed the opportunities to serve on professional societies such as the Entomological Society of New Zealand, New Zealand Biosecurity Institute, the Asia-Pacific Section of the International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC), and IOBC-Global, where I am currently on the last year of my term as Secretary-General.

Receiving the Dan Watkins Scholarship was a welcome financial boost to my PhD project, and not least a boost to my confidence and believe in myself. The scholarship also provided exposure within NZPPS, and opportunities to network. I have since encouraged several students to apply for this scholarship and to join NZPPS. The Society has much to offer to students and early career scientists and provides a supporting environment to grow.”

Releasing newly-introduced biocontrol agents against horehound, Marrubium vulgare

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