Greetings all, Yesterday we had our EPA hearing for the two biocontrol agents for horehound. Eight of the 40 submitters asked to speak at the hearing: one was the opposing submission from a herbal medicine company, and the others were submissions in favour of the application. Presentations were a mix of in-person and on a … Read more
Greetings all, One more piece is now ready to add to the biocontrol picture. You may remember that over the spring of 2017 and autumn of 2018 we ran a field survey to find out what is attacking horehound in New Zealand already. The idea was to find out if the biocontrol agents may have … Read more
Greetings all, The formal public consultation on the application to introduce two species of moths as biocontrol agents for horehound has now closed and it is time to take stock of the where we are at. The submissions are all available for the general public to view. You can find them listed under “Application Documents” here. … Read more
The application to introduce moths for biological control of horehound is now open for public submissions. To make an effective submission make sure you State clearly whether your submission is in support of the application Include your contact details Include quantifiable information about the impact of horehound on your farming operation (how much money and … Read more
Greetings everyone, We have reached a major milestone today – this morning the application to introduce two biocontrol agents for horehound has now been formally lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA now has up to 10 working days to acknowledge the application had been received and to post it on their website … Read more
Greetings all, It is time to update you that the EPA application is progressing well. We are awaiting confirmation of details for two more issues and finishing touches of quality checks before lodging the application with the EPA. We will post an update here as soon as the application has been lodged, because the formal consultation … Read more
Update 3: Posted on behalf of the Horehound Biocontrol Group The ball is now seriously rolling towards biological control for horehound!Here is where we are at, as of late February 2018: We have now informed the EPA of our intention to submit an application to release the two biocontrol agents. The EPA will now issue … Read more
Posted on behalf of the Horehound Biocontrol Group Happy New Year everyone, It’s been about six months since the horehound biocontrol project kicked in and a good time to update you on progress. Feasibility Study We have completed the feasibility study, which constitutes the first stage of any weed biocontrol programme and was a Stop/Go decision point … Read more
Posted on behalf of the Horehound Biocontrol Group Greetings everyone, Following five months of patient waiting, we finally heard last week that our efforts have paid off – the application to MPI’s Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) to fund a biocontrol programme against horehound has been approved! Subject to some paperwork and contracting, the funding will be … Read more
On 29 July 2016 Professor Derrick Moot headed out to the Ashley Dene research farm to look at an experiment being conducted by Masters student Teresa. This experiment is investigating the effects of nine different herbicide treatments on the survival and productivity of five different subterranean clover cultivars established in autumn and spray at one of two different … Read more