7. Maintaining horticultural security
This category provides information which will assist in developing and implementing policies which help to protect New Zealand’s horticultural industries from adverse effects of introduced pests and diseases. In particular, adequate and timely information is needed to develop new import health standards, and exclude and/or manage pests and unwanted organisms. Research activities are likely to include:
- Developing a process for assessing the environmental impacts of newly arrived pests - or pests that could arrive.
- Developing diagnostic keys/techniques to rapidly identify intercepted organisms and/or to accurately define New Zealand’s current plant health status (which ultimately contributes to the development of technically justified import health standards).
- Categorising comprehensive commodity pest lists to develop accurate, technically justified import health standards.
- Validating pest-host associations for entry into the Plant Pest Information Network (PPIN) to ensure ready access to current information describing New Zealand’s dynamic plant health status.
- Increasing awareness of the pesticide registration process leading to more informed comments of the real hazards associated with pesticides that may be used in pest management in accordance with the Biosecurity Act.
- Assessing the effectiveness of various strategies employed at New Zealand’s border to prevent passengers entering New Zealand, inadvertently or otherwise carrying risk goods. This would enable greater emphasis/resources to be directed at those strategies most likely to change the behaviour of those offending.
| Programme Title: | Categorisation of organisms from comprehensive pest lists |
| Programme Leader: | Dr Richard Baker |
| Institution: |
| Programme Goal: | To deliver, using standard procedures, the necessary information so that organisms from pest lists already prepared to MAFReg Standard 155.01.03 can be categorised and then used in import health standards. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Pest Categorisation |
| Research Leader: | Dr Richard Baker |
Description:
The New Zealand Plant Protection Centre (NZPPC) will prepare, for up to a total of 3,500 species, information necessary to categorise organisms in the groups of insect, mite, mollusc, fungus, bacteria, nematode and virus.
This work is a continuation of work undertaken during 1997/98.
| Programme Title: | |
| Programme Leader: | |
| Institution: | Massey University |
| Programme Goal: | To minimise biosecurity risk to New Zealand's agricultural and horticultural industry and native forests from adverse effects of pests and diseases by identifying the ways in which the behaviour of arriving international aircraft passengers may be influenced by effective border strategies. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Factors influencing behaviour of international passengers |
| Research Leader: | Dr Carolyn Whyte |
Description:
This objective will identify ways in which passenger behaviour may already be changing as a result of upgrades in detection technology and strengthening of biosecurity legislation. This will be accomplished by analysing the results of previous studies on passenger awareness of relevant biosecurity regulations and the efficacy of airport detection systems. The outcome from this phase will be a set of benchmark parameters for a survey of international aircraft passengers (Objective 2).
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Impact assessment of current border strategies |
| Research Leader: | Dr Ganesh Rauniyar and Dr Alan Winton |
Description
This objective will build upon Objective 1 findings and will assess the impact of educational, detection and deterrent strategies on passenger behaviour. The research will assess how international aircraft passengers respond to current border strategies, taking into account the psychological, social and cultural reasons for their responses. The outcome from this research will provide a better understanding of the relationship between border strategies and passenger behaviour. Furthermore, the research will provide a ranking of border strategies in terms of their specific effects on passenger behaviour.
This will be undertaken by observing and evaluating behaviour at all stages of travel, prior to embarkation, during the flight, and following landing, and includes:
- A random survey, developed in Objective 1, of international arriving aircraft passengers. The survey to be conducted during peak tourist season (Nov-Feb) interviewing arriving passengers at Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin airports.
- Monitoring up to four international flights from high-risk origins (determined in Objective 1) of passenger behaviour during video viewing and in response to information triggers upon arrival at the airports. Further detailing will be advised on completion of Objective 1.
- Evaluation of the interviewing methods of quarantine officers at airports for their effectiveness, with recommendations for their improvement made.
Objective 3
| Objective Title: | Additional strategies influencing passenger behaviour |
| Research Leader: | Dr Ganesh Rauniyar and John Orleans-Pobee |
Description
This objective will identify additional behaviour-influencing strategies to minimise the biosecurity risk associated with arriving international aircraft passengers. These strategies will take into account the views and roles of travel-related agencies such as tour operators, travel agents, airlines, and departure control staff. The outcome of this phase will be a set of recommendations for non-threatening border strategies that can be adopted at the entry points with little incremental costs.
This will be undertaken through:
- Surveys of 100 tour operators and 100 travel agencies (specialising in international travel), using a two-tier sampling strategy, in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
- Face-to-face interviews of 10 tour operators and 15 travel agencies will be held with a sub-sample of managers (or senior travel consultants).
- Interviews of a collection of (a) departure control staff and (b) key management staff of international airlines that fly into New Zealand.
| Programme Title: | Keys for aphid identification: Part III Immatures and tree aphids |
| Programme Leader: | Dr David Teulon |
| Institution: | Crop & Food Research |
| Programme Goal: | To provide a review and development of potential diagnostic tests or technologies that could be adapted or applied to provide an equivalent (or greater) level of phytosanitary assurance to current field inspections. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Molecular Diagnostics - Immature Aphids |
| Research Leader: | Dr John Marshall |
Description:
In year 2 the researchers gathered sequence information from aphids of the Acyrthosiphum/Aulacorthum group, for the ribosomal ITS and mtDNA COI/II and cytochrome B DNA fragments. Putative species-specific PCR primers based upon the ITS sequence data were successfully designed. In the coming year the researchers will survey sequence variation in the same DNA fragments from worldwide populations of three of these aphid species (A. pisum, A. solani and M. dirhodum). For comparison, variation in worldwide populations of another aphid pest species Rhopalosiphum padi, which are currently accessible at Lincoln, will be surveyed.
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Tree Aphid Key |
| Research Leader: | Dr David Teulon |
Description
Multiple entry diagnostic keys for winged and wingless tree aphids, particularly aphids of forest trees, will be developed. Separate keys for wingless aphids found on selected tree genera (or other closely related groups) will be constructed and will include selected aphids not yet found in New Zealand but considered to be of quarantine importance. The wingless key will be improved by incorporating pictures as opposed to written descriptions. The winged tree aphids will be incorporated into the winged key for aphids of horticultural and agricultural crops.
| Programme Title: | Development of a diagnostic key for Tortricidae |
| Programme Leader: | Peter Holder |
| Institution: |
| Programme Goal: | To develop robust, easy to use diagnostic keys to larvae and adult New Zealand Tortricidae, as well as to enable the separation of New Zealand species from the most likely introduced exotic species. Morphological keys for the species and life stages for which morphological characters are consistent; integrated with a molecular key that will enable the diagnoses of species and life stages for which morphological diagnoses are not reliable. The keys will be published. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Development of morphological diagnostic keys for Tortricidae. |
| Research Leader: | Peter Holder |
Description:
For available species, morphological keys will be developed for adults, and the framework for larval keys will be established. These keys will combine existing tortricid references with new research and be integrated with the molecular key.
The morphological keys will include New Zealand pest species and as many other New Zealand species as practical (including diagnostic deficiencies highlighted during Specific Crop Surveys), plus exotic species which are candidates for establishment. We expect to be flexible and incorporate species that arise as warranting inclusion during the life of the project.
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Development of a molecular diagnostic key for Tortricidae. |
| Research Leader: | Diane Gleeson |
Description
The aim is to develop DNA techniques for the diagnosis of key tortricid taxa. These techniques will distinguish taxa at all life stages including a) the various indigenous tortricids and b) these and the leafroller taxa intercepted at the border. This will be especially useful for life stages where there are no suitable morphological characters. The outcome is expected to be a molecular diagnostic key to enable identification of taxa with methodology for all life stages. This will be integrated with the morphological keys.
| Programme Title: | Monitoring the effectiveness of pest plant control |
| Programme Leader: | Dr Ross Cullen |
| Institution: | Lincoln University |
| Programme Goal: | To identify and evaluate the range of monitoring methodologies suitable for pest plant control in New Zealand. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Collect information on current monitoring practices |
| Research Leader: | Dr Ross Cullen |
Description:
Identify, by means of telephone discussions, all organisations involved in, or having an interest in the monitoring of pest plants in New Zealand. Interviews will be held with the managers of pest plant monitoring programmes in selected regional councils, unitary authorities and the other organisations identified, to discuss the range of practices used, the manner in which they are employed and the reasons for and advantages and limitations of current practices. The interviews will assist in designing a postal survey of others involved in monitoring programmes to provide a comprehensive data set on current practice in New Zealand. Ascertain the monitoring methodologies employed by each and the situations in which each methodology is employed.
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Review the literature on monitoring methodologies |
| Research Leader: | Dr Ross Cullen |
Description:
Identify the features, variables, data requirements, limitations of the monitoring techniques for pest plant control programmes reported in the literature. Employ both computerised databases and personal contacts with staff in organisations such as the Cooperative Research Centre for Weed Management Systems in Australia to access both national and international literature on pest plant monitoring including journals, technical reports, departmental discussion documents. Conduct a review of the literature obtained.
Objective 3
| Objective Title: | Evaluate methodologies for their New Zealand applicability. |
| Research Leader: | Dr Ross Cullen |
Description:
Evaluate the methodologies, which are identified as presently used in New Zealand, and additional methodologies described in the literature according to a number of criteria.
Criteria are expected to include the ability of the methodology
- to describe pest impacts rather than simply absence or presence of the pest,
- to define the actual and potential spread of the pest,
- to define the cost of the method,
- to define the situations in which it may be employed and its ability to provide information for use in economic evaluation.
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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