scigest - Plant & Food Research podcast
Welcome to Scigest - podcast-sized servings of digestible science from Plant & Food Research. Join us as we explore the advancements and impact our scientists are making in food production, including developing new cultivars, innovative new foods, to bioprotection science, AI and technology, and creating sustainable production systems. Listen to our scientists as they share and discuss current research in Aotearoa New Zealand, and beyond in this award-winning podcast collection. Make sure to visit www.plantandfood.com/scigest for even more information on Scigest!
To help you discover the podcast topics and research that interests you, Scigest is split into series, each covering different scientific topics. The series are as follows:
PPF: People|Planet|Food
FTS: From the sea
FTL: From the land
BDIS: Biosecurity, disease and insect science
STK: Science in the kitchen
NT: New technologies
ID: International development
SLFM: Science life for me (Our people)
SMAS: Science movers and shakers
SIS: Starting in science
- Update frequency
- every 14 days
- Episodes
- 177
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
FROM THIS LAND: travelogue episode 3 (ID)
How to persuade and train thousands of North Cambodian farmers to ditch rice and grow a range of higher value crops instead? To find out we’ll meet Clint Smythe, an unassuming Kiwi who has turbo-char…
Mon 07 Jun 2021
FROM THIS LAND: travelogue episode 2 (ID)
Wara, Suzie and Phil head north to the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The attraction? An audacious bid by local firm Sam Agritech to become their country’s first major exporter of avocado. The firm is…
Mon 07 Jun 2021
FROM THIS LAND: travelogue episode 1 (ID)
In episode 1. Vietnam: Where giant strides are happening in growing and breeding the Asian delicacy – Dragon Fruit. New Zealand taxpayer money has enabled Vietnamese and Kiwi scientists to overcome d…
Mon 07 Jun 2021
Growing peanuts in New Zealand (SS)
Peanut plants are a rare item in New Zealand even though we are big fan either as a snack or as peanut butter. But is that about to change? This week Jay Jayaraman speaks to Declan Graham, business m…
Mon 24 May 2021
The evolution of a data scientist (SLFM)
Science has always been about collecting data and with the new data collection technologies today we can collect a massive amount. This all needs to be processed to make sense of it which is where a …
Thu 06 May 2021
The smell conversation (BIOSECURITY)
Insects, animals, plants all use the power of smell to communicate or facilitate reproduction. These smell chemicals are called semiochemicals and today Nicola Sullivan talks to scientist Lloyd Strin…
Sun 18 Apr 2021
Never too late (SLFM)
Hilary Ireland is the latest addition to our scigest roster. She gets a taste of the hot seat when she shares her science journey as a late bloomer with host Jay Jayaraman. Hilary, now a research ass…
Wed 31 Mar 2021
Not your spin doctor (SLFM)
How to make science stand out in an age of information overload? In a reversal of roles scientist Tom Saunders interviews Communications Manager Emma Timewell about the fine line that science communi…
Tue 16 Mar 2021
Revisiting myrtle rust (BIOSECURITY)
Dr Rob Beresford returns to scigest with an update on the latest myrtle rust developments this summer in New Zealand and what we know about the fungal disease, its behaviour and its effects host plan…
Mon 22 Feb 2021
Taking off the "girl shoes" (SLFM)
After 30 years at Plant & Food Research and its predecessors, Philippa Stevens is ready for the OE she never had (after Covid)! The soon-to-retire Group GM Science Services looks back on her career w…
Wed 27 Jan 2021
Fish oil or snake oil? (SB)
Fat in food generally gets a bad rap, but fish oil is one of the edible oils that are often associated with health benefits for its high content of omega-3 fatty acids. Our host Andrew chats with Nel…
Thu 21 Jan 2021
The white light for listeria (SITK)
Food safety is something we don't really think about until we get a case of an upset stomach. It is however a constant and crucial issue for the supply chain around the food industry. Plant & Food Re…
Wed 23 Dec 2020
A kiwifruit legacy (SLFM)
Today we speak to Dr Ross Ferguson, an internationally recognized expert on the biology of kiwifruit. Ross's work helped to develop New Zealand's successful kiwifruit industry. In this podcast he tal…
Fri 04 Dec 2020
Unlocking the power of smell (SS)
As humans, our sense of smell tells us a lot about our surroundings and whether something is potentially good or harmful. Dr Melissa Jordan is an olfactory expert who has studied the evolution of olf…
Thu 12 Nov 2020
Friend or foe? (BIOSECURITY)
Harlequin ladybird is a recent arrival in New Zealand but growers of major crops have already formed a love-hate relationship with it. Dr Dave Bellamy returns for another episode where he explains th…
Tue 20 Oct 2020
The slow attack of the guava moth (SLS)
Have you ever cut open a home-grown feijoa and found rotten brown patches inside? Chances are it was caused by guava moth, an exotic pest from Australia which attacks crops including citrus, macadami…
Thu 01 Oct 2020
Going South... for the better (SLFM)
Entomologist Dr Dave Bellamy was a hot dog vendor, high school science teacher and USDA postharvest researcher. Until two years ago, the US-born scientist had never crossed the equator. He shares the…
Thu 17 Sep 2020
Street scientist (and diplomat) (SLFM)
For 25 years Dr Charles Dwamena has made New Zealand home. While he is a scientist working on boosting the colour and nutrient content of fruit in the lab, he is also passionate about communicating s…
Mon 17 Aug 2020
Think like a thrips (SS)
Entomologist Jessica Vereijssen is looking for Integrated Pest Management solutions for thrips on strawberry orchards. To make the environment less desirable to the pest, she has to put herself in it…
Mon 27 Jul 2020
Gold rush (SS)
Dr Phil Elmer calls himself a "magpie" that collects interesting microorganisms with potential. One of the yeast samples that he collected from apricots in Central Otago years ago has recently been r…
Thu 09 Jul 2020
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