Plant & Food Research

Plant & Food Research (Māori: Rangahau Ahumāra Kai) is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute (CRI). The institute was formed on 1 December 2008 by merging existing CRIs HortResearch and Crop and Food Research.

The merged organisation has over 900 staff based at sites throughout New Zealand as well as science and business development staff working in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia.

The interests of the institute are based in horticulture, arable and seafood research, specifically in the areas of sustainable production, bioprotection, elite genetics & intelligent breeding, food and health science and biomaterials.

Areas of Research

Breeding

New and novel plant varieties – Pipfruit, kiwifruit, stonefruit, berries, potatoes, brassicas, onions, peas, cereals, hops and ornamentals.

Conventional breeding – Over 300 hectares of research orchards and farms across New Zealand plus unique germplasm collections for key crops.

Functional genomics – Molecular biology, genetic mapping, marker assisted selection, bioinformatics, metabolic profiling.

Fertilizer

A fertilizer or fertiliser (in British English) is any material of natural or synthetic origin (other than liming materials) that is applied to soils or to plant tissues (usually leaves) to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. This also depends on its soil fertility as well as organic things such as humic acid, seaweed and worm castings

Mechanism

Fertilizers enhance the growth of plants. This goal is met in two ways, the traditional one being additives that provide nutrients. The second mode by which some fertilisers act is to enhance the effectiveness of the soil by modifying its water retention and aeration. This article, like most on fertilizers, emphasises the nutritional aspect. Fertilizers typically provide, in varying proportions:

Journal of Food Science

The Journal of Food Science is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1936 and is published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the Institute of Food Technologists in Chicago, Illinois. From 1996 to 2005, it was ranked eighth among impact in scientific journals publishing food science and technology.

History

The journal was founded in 1936 as Food Research with Fred W. Tanner (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign) as editor in chief. Published bimonthly by Garrard Press, it was a publication that dealt with food science and technology research. The first issue had nine articles in it. By the end of 1936, 55 papers were published.

In 1950, Food Research was purchased by the Institute of Food Technologists and Zoltan I. Kertesz was named Editor-In-Chief in 1951. Kertesz and most of his successors also served as editors of Food Technology, the Institute's magazine founded in 1947. He was replaced by Martin S. Peterson in July 1952, who served until December 1960.