{"id":6978,"date":"2013-02-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-07T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/cover-story\/"},"modified":"2013-02-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-07T11:00:00","slug":"cover-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/cover-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover story"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

The crop, being grown by Canterbury Seed and Winslow Ltd, has been attracting the attention of motorists on State Highway 1 just south of Ashburton. It is covered in a fabric mesh netting to keep birds at bay.<\/p>\n

Canterbury Seed Production Manager Mark Collie said the birds posed a serious threat. At around $1000 a hectare to cover, it was a serious business, but the protection was needed to get optimum yield.<\/p>\n

Management at certain stages of growth is critical to the overall outcome.<\/p>\n

The crop was planted early in spring and is expected to be harvested late this month. The seed is destined for Asia where the resultant crop is grown as a vegetable and eaten as a root crop.<\/p>\n

Collie said the radish could be a lucrative option for New Zealand cropping farmers if the pollination and pricing were right. A close relationship with the beekeeper was key as the plants – both male and female – were grown. Both must be flowering and pollinated at the same time. Following pollination the male plants were removed, producing a distinctly manicured crop.<\/p>\n

To meet customer specifications and produce varietal purity the hybrid radish must be kept in isolation from other radish crops to ensure plants are true to type.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe growing from planting to harvest is a specialist job,\u201d Collie said. \u201cTiming is critical all the way to get the best-quality seed and the best return.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Specialist vegetable seed production such as this hybrid radish, pictured, has the potential to produce a lucrative cropping return.\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":6979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t