Over the past nine weeks, finalists have been developing innovative products and services that can go to market as part of their AGMARDT Market Innovation Project, a written project activity within the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition, which finalists complete in their own time in the lead up to the Grand Final.
2013 AGMARDT Market Innovation winner, Liza Whalley’s streamlined spray backpack won additional funding for further development. A previous winning project (2007) for aerial virus mapping for the viticulture industry has been developed for both local and international markets.
This year’s finalists’ projects include a ground breaking tv show concept, a lateral attack on the wine industry’s leafroller virus, and lining gloves with titanium for winter warmth. “For their AGMARDT Market Innovation project, finalists are encouraged to develop understanding of what is required to identify and analyse market innovation opportunities,” explains AGMARDT GM Malcolm Nitschke.
Young Amenity winner, Sarah Fenwick, is taking on Southland’s freezing conditions with her lightweight glove design. The durable, cost effective glove inner is made of titanium lined limestone neoprene to keep gardeners’ fingers warm and nimble.
Landscaper Nic Muir’s project innovation solves the problem for the construction and landscape industries of sight lines which usually involve two people and several instruments. ‘Guide Pro’ combines a spirit level and a laser pointer into a laser beam that throws two lines instead of one.
A fresh take on reality television is the novel approach developed by florist, Caitlin Thorburn. Her aim is to increase sales of New Zealand flowers, and she’s using social media and a tv show she’s named ‘Flower Wars-for the love of flowers’.
Paul Robinson is tackling the wine industry’s problem of Leafroller Virus. ‘Nip it in the Bud’ Leafroller Virus indicator cuts out the time and cost of detecting the virus by grafting a bud of a red grape vine onto a white grape vine. Unlike the white, the red grape variety displays symptoms of the virus. As soon as leaf roller virus symptoms are detected the vine can be removed, limiting costly vine losses.
Nursery and Garden’s Jacqui Jones has designed a marketing campaign to showcase plants as sustainable, eco friendly solutions to today’s environmental issues. In addition, traceability technology for kiwifruit is the innovation of Horticulture NZ’s Patrick Malley. Through his project, a consumer anywhere in the world will be able to scan kiwifruit packing cases to identify the orchard where the fruit grew.
The 10th annual ‘Young Horticulturist of the Year’ competition takes place in Auckland on November 12-13. Winners are announced during the Grand Final awards dinner at the Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland, on Thursday, 13 November.
This year’s finalists compete for a prize portfolio that includes more than $10,000 to the selected AGMARDT Market Innovation Project winners; the winner will receive a $7,500 travel and accommodation package. Second place getter receives a $5,500 Massey University study scholarship. Awards in the competition include a $3,500 T& G travel grant, $2,500 Fruitfed Supplies Leadership grant, $3,000 Primary ITO Professional Development grant, $2,500 Bayer Crop Science scholarship and other products as prizes.
‘The Young Horticulturist of the Year’ competition is generously partnered by AGMARDT, Fruitfed Supplies, and T&G (Turners & Growers). As well as the competition supporters: Bayer Crop Science, Countdown, Massey University, NZ Gardener magazine, NZ Winegrowers, and Primary ITO.
The Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture Education Trust is a not for profit, charitable trust that oversees the organisation of the ‘Young Horticulturist of the Year.’
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