Scholarship winner to research ryegrass

Rebecca Yeates from Whakatane has been awarded this year's NZ National Agricultural Fieldays Sir Don Llewellyn Scholarship.

Rebecca Yeates from Whakatane has been awarded the NZ National Agricultural Fieldays Sir Don Llewellyn Scholarship.

The University of Waikato Masters student would begin work in November on her Master of Science (Research) in plant physiology supervised by Dr Mike Clearwater at Waikato, and Dr Jim Crush and Dr Shirley Nichols at AgResearch.

In 2015, she completed a Bachelor of Science (Technology).

Her research would involve assessing thousands of ryegrass seedlings to determine whether it was possible to select seedlings with reduced root hair length and density that would decrease competition with white clover for soil phosphorus.

"This is important because in pastures sown with a mix of ryegrass and white clover, ryegrass out-competes white clover, absorbing more phosphorus from the soil and inhibiting white clover growth. Farmers need to put three times more phosphorous on the soil to counteract this than if the two species were grown separately.

"If I can isolate ryegrass seedlings with fewer, shorter root hairs, then the method can be passed on to plant breeders to create a ryegrass with reduced competition with white clover which will reduce the need for additional phosphorus."

She said white clover and ryegrass was a very durable mix, much easier to maintain than others such as chicory or plantains, and was a traditional, widely-used pasture for grazing stock.

For her research Rebecca would grow seedlings, then lift them from the soil to check the proliferation of root hairs.

"The idea is to create a population of plants with low root hair length and density. If I can do this and prove there is a correlation between these traits and lower rates of phosphorous absorption, then this protocol could be passed on to plant breeders.

"If farmers use less phosphorous on the soil, this has good outcomes for the environment, as well as having a cost-saving benefit. So if we can produce a perennial ryegrass cultivar with increased environmental benefits, it will be good for both agriculture and the environment," she says.

The New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays Sir Don Llewellyn Scholarship was established in 2012 by the NZ National Fieldays Society and is awarded to graduate students at the University of Waikato whose research was seen to have a meaningful outcome for the agricultural industry.

It was valued at $22,000.

University of Waikato vice-chancellor Professor Neil Quigley said the scholarship was a great example of how industry can support students' research.

"Rebecca's research could have significant impacts for the agricultural sector and I'm very pleased to see her work being supported and recognised by this scholarship."

NZ National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation said the society was proud to continue supporting Waikato students through the scholarship.

"For almost 50 years, the Fieldays Society has been striving to advance agriculture and this is as relevant today as it was in 1969. The future of farming rests on the next generation and we're proud to facilitate the growth of our economy through our partnership with the University of Waikato and the NZ National Agricultural Fieldays Sir Don Llewellyn Scholarship."