Gene study could cut chemical use by 80% in NZ wine sector
The study, which utilises the MGI DNBSEQ-G400 genome sequencer, has made it possible for scientists to carry out large-scale testing of grapevines at a considerably lower cost and in significantly less time compared to conventional methods. This approach marks the first use of this sequencing platform for wine-related research in New Zealand.
New Zealand's wine industry is valued at USD $2.1 billion in export revenue annually, making it the country's sixth-largest export industry and a significant employer across main winegrowing regions. However, the sector faces increasing challenges related to sustainability and environmental impact, particularly concerning the extensive use of chemical sprays to combat disease.
According to statistics cited in the study, New Zealand farmers currently use about 3,400 tonnes of pesticides each year. Notably, under US Environmental Protection Agency classifications, a substantial proportion of these chemicals are suspected carcinogens - 5% of herbicides, 60% of fungicides, 8% of insecticides, and 72% of plant growth regulators.
Early results from the genome sequencing project suggest that chemical spray use could potentially be reduced by as much as 80%. For producers contending with the effects of climate change and mounting scrutiny over chemical inputs, this could represent significant cost savings and a move towards more sustainable practices.
The research is focused on detecting natural genetic traits that confer disease resistance in grapevines. With this technology, scientists are now able to test in excess of 50,000 grapevines annually, an increase from the hundreds typically screened using previous methods. "The wine industry is a major contributor to the New Zealand economy, but it's also facing huge challenges around sustainability. Vineyards are heavily reliant on chemicals to fight fungal disease and that can come at a cost to the soil microbiome, long-term crop health and the environment. With this technology, we're now able to scale up our studies dramatically and look for grape varieties that are naturally resistant to disease. You're never going to get to zero but by identifying and cultivating naturally disease-resistant vines, and by targeting interventions only where they're truly needed, we can massively reduce chemical input. Even removing a single spray late in the season has multiple benefits; it lowers costs, reduces residue risks in wine and lessens the environmental burden."
In the past, researchers were limited to sampling only a few hundred vines per year. The new sequencing system has increased lab capacity 100-fold, with processing times and costs both reduced due to the local availability of the advanced technology.
The genomic platform enables real-time detection and monitoring of diseases such as powdery mildew and mealy bug. Associate Professor Winefield explained the significance for growers: "What this unlocks is a move from broad-spectrum, scheduled spraying to data-driven, localised treatment. That means fewer chemicals in the environment, lower resistance pressure on pests and pathogens and a better product at the end of the day, whether that's milk, grapes or meat."
Lincoln University's lab is currently gathering genetic data from a range of grape and hop varieties to evaluate responses to various stresses and diseases. Winefield highlighted that the research does not constitute genetic modification: "We're looking for the vines that can handle more with less spray, less water and fewer inputs. Genomics allows us to do that with unprecedented precision. What we're doing isn't genetic modification it's about identifying and working with natural variation to breed better and more resilient plants."
The partnership includes MGI Australia, whose director Dr. Bicheng Yang commented on the broader implications: "This is a powerful example of how cutting-edge genomics can support the long-term sustainability of key industries. By helping researchers understand the genetic factors that improve disease resistance and fruit quality, we're enabling a future where viticulture relies less on chemicals and more on the natural resilience of the plant."
The team at Lincoln University is now working to establish a commercial venture that would make genomic testing accessible to individual farmers and growers across viticulture, horticulture, and dairy sectors. The aim is to provide affordable real-time genomic insights to help detect disease early, lower input costs, and reduce environmental impacts.
Winefield believes the project will contribute not just to viticulture but to a wider range of crop industries, serving as a model that could be replicated internationally. He outlined the future vision: "Our goal is to bring the cost of genomic tests down to a level where individual growers and farmers can routinely use them to make better, more targeted decisions. This is about taking world-class science out of the lab and into the field - and transforming how primary industries manage disease and productivity at the grassroots level." "Ultimately, this kind of science supports the future of New Zealand's primary industries, higher-value, lower-impact and globally competitive."
The planned venture intends to process over one million samples per year initially, potentially expanding to 10 million samples annually within five years. The variability and unpredictability of climate conditions in New Zealand are providing a unique testing environment for these new techniques.
Winefield summarised the national potential for this infrastructure: "We're not just building a lab, we're creating a national infrastructure for precision agriculture, one that allows growers and vets to test for multiple pathogens or productivity issues at once, at a cost that's viable for everyday use."
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Scientists In NZ First Genomic Study To Cut Chemical Use In Wine Sector
Press Release – Impact PR Early findings from the grapevine research suggest that chemical spray use could be cut by as much as 80% in some cases – a potential multimillion-dollar cost saving for an industry under mounting pressure from climate change. A world-first genome study underway in Canterbury is set to help NZ's billion-dollar wine export industry grow more disease-resistant grapevines and reduce fungicide use in the sector. New Zealand farmers consume 3,400 tonnes of pesticides annually. Under the US Environmental Protection Agency's classification, 5% of herbicides, 60% of fungicides, 8% of insecticides and 72% of plant growth regulators used in NZ are suspected carcinogens.1 Early findings from the grapevine research suggest that chemical spray use could be cut by as much as 80% in some cases – a potential multimillion-dollar cost saving for an industry under mounting pressure from climate change, which is intensifying disease risk and making traditional spray schedules less effective. Viticulture is New Zealand's sixth-largest export industry, generating $2.1 billion in export revenue last year alone, and employing thousands across the country's key winegrowing regions. The research aims to identify natural genetic traits that make grapevines more resistant to disease, reducing the need for fungicides and boosting productivity for growers. Scientists at Lincoln University have installed the MGI DNBSEQ-G400 genome sequencer, a next-generation DNA reading machine, which is enabling them to run tens of thousands of tests on grapevines at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. Advances in sequencing technology have dramatically reduced the cost of genomic sequencing, from billions of dollars in the late 1990s to just tens of thousands today, making large-scale studies like this one feasible. Associate Professor Christopher Winefield, Department of Wine, Food & Molecular Biosciences at Lincoln University, says it is the first time the sequencing platform has been used to support wine-related research in New Zealand. 'The wine industry is a major contributor to the New Zealand economy, but it's also facing huge challenges around sustainability. 'Vineyards are heavily reliant on chemicals to fight fungal disease and that can come at a cost to the soil microbiome, long-term crop health and the environment. 'With this technology, we're now able to scale up our studies dramatically and look for grape varieties that are naturally resistant to disease. 'You're never going to get to zero but by identifying and cultivating naturally disease-resistant vines, and by targeting interventions only where they're truly needed, we can massively reduce chemical input. Even removing a single spray late in the season has multiple benefits; it lowers costs, reduces residue risks in wine and lessens the environmental burden.' 'In the past, we have been limited to being able to sample a few hundred vines a year, but with the new system installed, the lab can now process more than 50,000 a year, which is a 100-fold increase in volume.' 'Having this technology on site means we no longer have to send samples offshore for analysis. That's saving time and money and allowing us to move at a completely different scale.' The genomic platform allows researchers to detect the presence and spread of diseases like powdery mildew or mealy bug in real time, enabling farmers to spray only where needed. 'What this unlocks is a move from broad-spectrum, scheduled spraying to data-driven, localised treatment. That means fewer chemicals in the environment, lower resistance pressure on pests and pathogens and a better product at the end of the day, whether that's milk, grapes or meat.' Professor Winefield says the lab is now collecting genetic data across a wide array of grape and hop varieties to understand how they respond to stress and disease pressures. 'We're looking for the vines that can handle more with less spray, less water and fewer inputs. Genomics allows us to do that with unprecedented precision. 'What we're doing isn't genetic modification it's about identifying and working with natural variation to breed better and more resilient plants.' Dr. Bicheng Yang, director of MGI Australia, says the partnership with Lincoln University is part of a broader push to support sustainable agriculture globally. 'This is a powerful example of how cutting-edge genomics can support the long-term sustainability of key industries. 'By helping researchers understand the genetic factors that improve disease resistance and fruit quality, we're enabling a future where viticulture relies less on chemicals and more on the natural resilience of the plant.' Researchers on the study are now forming a new commercial venture designed to democratise genomic testing for farms across New Zealand. Targeting sectors like viticulture, horticulture and dairy, where growers often rely on blanket chemical treatments due to a lack of precise data, the venture aims to give farmers affordable access to real-time genomic insights, helping them detect disease earlier, reduce input costs and minimise environmental impact. Professor Winefield says the project is one of the first of its kind and is expected to inform not only viticulture breeding programmes, but also other crop research relevant to the brewing and horticulture industries. 'Our goal is to bring the cost of genomic tests down to a level where individual growers and farmers can routinely use them to make better, more targeted decisions. 'This is about taking world-class science out of the lab and into the field – and transforming how primary industries manage disease and productivity at the grassroots level.' 'Ultimately, this kind of science supports the future of New Zealand's primary industries, higher-value, lower-impact and globally competitive.' Winefield is now seeking investors to back the development of a standalone company that will dramatically scale up the testing capacity already proven in the lab. The new venture plans to process more than a million samples per year initially, with the potential to scale to 10 million tests annually within five years. He says climate change is adding further pressure to pest and disease management across the primary sector, with warmer, wetter seasons driving more aggressive outbreaks and shifting the geographic range of many pathogens. Winefield says the venture could serve as a model for similar services internationally and believes the country's climate diversity makes it an ideal test bed for developing robust genetics that can be exported. 'New Zealand may never feed the world by volume, but we can absolutely feed it through better science, by exporting the genetic tools and insights that lift productivity and resilience globally.' 'We're seeing diseases appear earlier in the season, or in regions where they weren't previously a problem. That unpredictability makes scheduled spraying less effective and raises the risk of over- or under-treating crops. Genomic monitoring gives us the tools to respond to these changes with precision, spotting threats earlier and adapting management strategies to shifting environmental conditions.' 'We're not just building a lab, we're creating a national infrastructure for precision agriculture, one that allows growers and vets to test for multiple pathogens or productivity issues at once, at a cost that's viable for everyday use.'
Scoop
4 days ago
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Scientists In NZ First Genomic Study To Cut Chemical Use In Wine Sector
A world-first genome study underway in Canterbury is set to help NZ's billion-dollar wine export industry grow more disease-resistant grapevines and reduce fungicide use in the sector. New Zealand farmers consume 3,400 tonnes of pesticides annually. Under the US Environmental Protection Agency's classification, 5% of herbicides, 60% of fungicides, 8% of insecticides and 72% of plant growth regulators used in NZ are suspected carcinogens.1 Early findings from the grapevine research suggest that chemical spray use could be cut by as much as 80% in some cases - a potential multimillion-dollar cost saving for an industry under mounting pressure from climate change, which is intensifying disease risk and making traditional spray schedules less effective. Viticulture is New Zealand's sixth-largest export industry, generating $2.1 billion in export revenue last year alone, and employing thousands across the country's key winegrowing regions. The research aims to identify natural genetic traits that make grapevines more resistant to disease, reducing the need for fungicides and boosting productivity for growers. Scientists at Lincoln University have installed the MGI DNBSEQ-G400 genome sequencer, a next-generation DNA reading machine, which is enabling them to run tens of thousands of tests on grapevines at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. Advances in sequencing technology have dramatically reduced the cost of genomic sequencing, from billions of dollars in the late 1990s to just tens of thousands today, making large-scale studies like this one feasible. Associate Professor Christopher Winefield, Department of Wine, Food & Molecular Biosciences at Lincoln University, says it is the first time the sequencing platform has been used to support wine-related research in New Zealand. 'The wine industry is a major contributor to the New Zealand economy, but it's also facing huge challenges around sustainability. 'Vineyards are heavily reliant on chemicals to fight fungal disease and that can come at a cost to the soil microbiome, long-term crop health and the environment. 'With this technology, we're now able to scale up our studies dramatically and look for grape varieties that are naturally resistant to disease. 'You're never going to get to zero but by identifying and cultivating naturally disease-resistant vines, and by targeting interventions only where they're truly needed, we can massively reduce chemical input. Even removing a single spray late in the season has multiple benefits; it lowers costs, reduces residue risks in wine and lessens the environmental burden.' 'In the past, we have been limited to being able to sample a few hundred vines a year, but with the new system installed, the lab can now process more than 50,000 a year, which is a 100-fold increase in volume.' 'Having this technology on site means we no longer have to send samples offshore for analysis. That's saving time and money and allowing us to move at a completely different scale.' The genomic platform allows researchers to detect the presence and spread of diseases like powdery mildew or mealy bug in real time, enabling farmers to spray only where needed. 'What this unlocks is a move from broad-spectrum, scheduled spraying to data-driven, localised treatment. That means fewer chemicals in the environment, lower resistance pressure on pests and pathogens and a better product at the end of the day, whether that's milk, grapes or meat.' Professor Winefield says the lab is now collecting genetic data across a wide array of grape and hop varieties to understand how they respond to stress and disease pressures. 'We're looking for the vines that can handle more with less spray, less water and fewer inputs. Genomics allows us to do that with unprecedented precision. 'What we're doing isn't genetic modification it's about identifying and working with natural variation to breed better and more resilient plants.' Dr. Bicheng Yang, director of MGI Australia, says the partnership with Lincoln University is part of a broader push to support sustainable agriculture globally. 'This is a powerful example of how cutting-edge genomics can support the long-term sustainability of key industries. 'By helping researchers understand the genetic factors that improve disease resistance and fruit quality, we're enabling a future where viticulture relies less on chemicals and more on the natural resilience of the plant.' Researchers on the study are now forming a new commercial venture designed to democratise genomic testing for farms across New Zealand. Targeting sectors like viticulture, horticulture and dairy, where growers often rely on blanket chemical treatments due to a lack of precise data, the venture aims to give farmers affordable access to real-time genomic insights, helping them detect disease earlier, reduce input costs and minimise environmental impact. Professor Winefield says the project is one of the first of its kind and is expected to inform not only viticulture breeding programmes, but also other crop research relevant to the brewing and horticulture industries. 'Our goal is to bring the cost of genomic tests down to a level where individual growers and farmers can routinely use them to make better, more targeted decisions. 'This is about taking world-class science out of the lab and into the field - and transforming how primary industries manage disease and productivity at the grassroots level.' 'Ultimately, this kind of science supports the future of New Zealand's primary industries, higher-value, lower-impact and globally competitive.' Winefield is now seeking investors to back the development of a standalone company that will dramatically scale up the testing capacity already proven in the lab. The new venture plans to process more than a million samples per year initially, with the potential to scale to 10 million tests annually within five years. He says climate change is adding further pressure to pest and disease management across the primary sector, with warmer, wetter seasons driving more aggressive outbreaks and shifting the geographic range of many pathogens. Winefield says the venture could serve as a model for similar services internationally and believes the country's climate diversity makes it an ideal test bed for developing robust genetics that can be exported. 'New Zealand may never feed the world by volume, but we can absolutely feed it through better science, by exporting the genetic tools and insights that lift productivity and resilience globally.' 'We're seeing diseases appear earlier in the season, or in regions where they weren't previously a problem. That unpredictability makes scheduled spraying less effective and raises the risk of over- or under-treating crops. Genomic monitoring gives us the tools to respond to these changes with precision, spotting threats earlier and adapting management strategies to shifting environmental conditions.' 'We're not just building a lab, we're creating a national infrastructure for precision agriculture, one that allows growers and vets to test for multiple pathogens or productivity issues at once, at a cost that's viable for everyday use.'
RNZ News
15-07-2025
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A new way to identify pathogens
New Zealand farmers use well over 3,000 tonnes of pesticide annually. But a new genomic study has discovered a way to potentially cut that by 80%. Using DNA sequencing technology, Lincoln University scientists believe it's possible to stop mass applications and instead switch to a targeted approach. Currently the project - led by Lincoln University Associate Professor Dr Chris Winefield - is focusing on vineyards. Photo: Supplied - Chris Winefield
