Ashburton Courier: December 12, 2019

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Page 44, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday 12 December 2019 Local Petshop Megastore Locally owned Petshop in Ashburtonstocking pet foods, toys and grooming products. Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Visit us now! TALK TO US TODAYABOUT YOUR LANDSCAPING PROJECTS Also available: Tropical and cold water fish, aquariums,aquatic supplies,rabbits,guineapigs,birds and alot more. Supplier of products from: 2231920 2231926 Phone 307 8660 167 Tancred Street,Ashburton Let us help you celebrate Christmas This Christmas time, just think how happy you would make her if your Mum could take abreak and WE become the baker! WE can bake and ice her cake and cook her Christmas pies and our range of special bread will fill her with surprise With our freshly baked selection (there’snoroom to name them all) the best thing you can do for Mum is just give us acall! Now’sthe time toorder your Christmas cake, mince pies, croissants …and much much more! Creek Road,Ashburton. Phone 3083398 2230728 NEED GIFT IDEAS? MORE TOYS IN-STORE OR SHOP ONLINE! John Deere Torch $17.95 Action Lawn Mower $39.95 1:32 JD 6215R Tractor $44.95 Tractor-opoly Game $59.95 832 East Street, Ashburton Ph 03 307 9911 | www.dne.co.nz Pedal Tractor with Loader &Trailer $263.18 AnimalSounds Hayride $33.95
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday 12 December 2019, Page 45 Rural&Lifestyle Alternative crop pollinator option By Toni Williams Drone flies are not aknown allergen, they don’t sting so handlers need no protective clothing and they can be pollinating crops within weeks of a lowcost setup. They are anatural complement to honey bees as acrop pollinators, especially for open flower species. And can be mass reared in the field in simple systems seed growers can construct in fixed trenches or portable containers, as their larvae feed on arange of moist vegetation types and/or animal manure. Plant and Food Research’s Brad Howlett is excited by ongoing research into their pollination potential. Speaking at the Foundation for Arable Research’s (FAR) annual arable research in action day, he said when most people thought of pollinators they thought of honey bees, which were easily accessible for farmers to use. But although hybrid seed crops were primarily pollinated by honey bees, there was the potential for seed production to be vulnerable if honey bee hive numbers, and availability, was reduced through disease or parasite. Blustery day at FAR field day at Chertsey The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) held its Arable Research In Action (ARIA) field day last week at the FAR Chertsey arable site on State Highway 1,atChertsey, Mid Canterbury. In blustery northwest winds, hundreds offarmers and industry representatives were on site to hear the latest research information and view demonstration plots, investigating everything fromcultivars to cultivation. The presentations on the day covered issues considered critical to cropping and its related primary industries. Twelve speakers from New Zealand and abroad spoke including international herbicide resistance expert Mid Canterbury's Kai Tegels (left) checks out Drone Fly lavae specimens during the Drone Flies and Pollination session at the Foundation for Arable Research’s arable research in action day. There were also some hybrid crops which produced little nectar and were not attractive to bees. Dr Howlett said it was good to have biodiversity in pollinators Emeritus Professor Carol Mallory Smith from Oregon State University (Herbicide Resistance aUSperspective) and AgResearch’s Scott Hardwick (Red Clover case bearer update), Plant and Food Research’s Soonie Chng (Ramularia update), FAR’s Diana Mathers (The how and why of Quick N testing), and Phil Rolston (Options for improving glyphosate efficiency). ARIA takes place on a13.5hectare property, just north of Chertsey, on a mix of irrigated and nonirrigated land. FAR has demonstrated at the site for the past 16 years, offering alongterm showcase for some highprofile research projects on multiple crops, funded bygrower levies and external grants. because it can increase crop yield. The reason was “honey bees like sunny conditions and behave in a certain way”. Other insects operated in other RURAL DIARY Thu • Brought to you by your local insurance brokers Friday, December 13 • Adams and Seaton Suftex and Suffolk Ram, Canterbury Park Monday, December 16 • Temuka Tuesday, December 17 • Canterbury Park All Stock systems such as bumble bees like cooler cloudier conditions. “So when you’ve got weather that is highly changeable, you’ve got time that honey bees aren’t active.” He said the existing recommendations around pollination diversity were general or broad but were often associated with native plants and habitat but it still didn’t guarantee colonisation of those insects. “The better option is if we can try and develop pollinators.” “The drone fly has really good potential. “It looks like ahoney bee…and has beneficial characteristics. “It can actually be more efficient than honey bees. He said drone files were generalists and could be used to pollinate arange of crops including pak choi, radish, onion and hybrid carrot. “And they’re really common. There’s agood chance you are going to see adults on your crops anyway.” Their lifecycle was basic and substrates were commonly found in effluent, cut grass, lawn clippings or any substance kept moist and starting to decay. Thursday, December 19 • Temuka Store Cattle 2208280 Rural Directory CONTRACTORSGENERAL ACL -Ashburton Contracting Ltd Ph: 308 4039 SHEARING CONTRACTORS Proshear Limited Ph: 302 7541 To advertise in this space please call 308 7664 199 Burnett Street, Ashburton They reared thousands of lavae. Systems to massrear drone flies in fields, next to crops were being developed. On site at ARIA there was afive metre long, 50 cm deep and 60cm wide trench dug into the ground and layered with substrates to help activate drone flies production. Dr Howlett said asmaller, more portable option using two containers –dry material like saw dust on the bottom for drone lies to pupate in) and asubstance (like baleage, effluent, or grass clippings) kept wet in the top, smaller container could made to allow moving the ‘system’ to high need crop areas. The drone flies were attracted to the decaying material and can produce hundreds of eggs for each individual, which quickly produced thousands of drone flies. “You can go out in your field and see if there are any problems. You might not have pollinators in a certain area and you can pick these (systems) up and move them.” He said the earlier the systems were created the better with the drone flies still producing pupae three months after entering. . 2180558 www.hispec.net.nz SA-R2600 SLURRYTANKER MUCK SPREADER STANDARD FEATURES Autofill |11600 ltr capacity Exhaust silencer Full length sight glass Stone trap Hydraulic brakes Brackets for dribble bar (options available) Splash plate SA-R2600 $54,000 +GST Dribble bar not included DIET FEEDERS | SINGLE/DOUBLE AXLE From 7m 3 to 35m 3 . Molasses and mineral intake tubes for dietary requirements with front facing conveyor with side shift. Teaser rollers placed at door to break up clumps. 2speed main gearboxes. Full chassis for strength. www.cochranes.co.nz SOUTH ISLAND Call Alastair Robertson | 027 435 2642 AMBERLEY |LEESTON |ASHBURTON TIMARU |OAMARU
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Ashburton Courier: December 12, 2019

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