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First award of grape and wine research prize

Research showing the beneficial contribution native plants and biodiversity can make to New Zealand grape and wine production has won Lincoln University doctoral student Jean-Marie Tompkins the inaugu

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Research showing the beneficial contribution native plants and biodiversity can make to New Zealand grape and wine production has won Lincoln University doctoral student Jean-Marie Tompkins the inaugural David Jackson Prize.

The $1500 prize, for an article by a Lincoln University student on wine-related research showing "academic rigour" and "conceptual innovation", was presented to Jean-Marie at the Canterbury wine industry's first annual David Jackson Dinner in the city. The idea for introducing such an award came from Canterbury winegrowers and was supported by Lincoln University, New Zealand's specialist land-based university.

Jean-Marie's PhD research, supervised by Lincoln University's Professor of Ecology Steve Wratten, focused on the now well-known North Canterbury "Greening Waipara" project and the concept of "nature's services".

Greening Waipara is about maximising the use of native plants to attract beneficial insects and reduce reliance on inputs such as synthetic fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides. The benefits these plants and insects provide are referred to as "nature's services".

Behind the Greening Waipara project is a drive to establish the Waipara Valley wine industry as a model for the rest of New Zealand by being able to support producers' "clean, green" claims, meet market demands for high quality wine produced using sustainable practices, and restoring native plant life to Canterbury which, as a region, has the lowest native vegetation cover in the country.

Jean-Marie investigated the practicalities and benefits of establishing native plants in vineyards through a trial of 13 indigenous species, based largely at the Mud House Winery and Café. These plants had a low growth form requiring no mowing; they provided good floral resources of nectar and pollen; and they had a tolerance to frost and drought.

Each of the species was assessed for growth and survival; ability to suppress weeds; provision of shelter and other resources to the natural enemies of pests; and effects on vineyard soil including moisture, nutrients and microbial activity. Cost and maintenance issues were also investigated.

Jean-Marie's conclusions were all positive.

"The deployment of native New Zealand plants within vineyards presents an opportunity to satisfy consumer demands and maintain the competitiveness of the New Zealand wine sector," she says.

Jean-Marie, originally from Taranaki, a past pupil of Spotswood College, New Plymouth, and a former New Zealand equestrian representative in three-day eventing, says her interest in viticulture and wine making "took off" seven years ago when she enrolled in a Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University.

She already had a Commerce and Administration degree from Victoria University, with a major in International Business and Commercial Law. She also holds a Diploma in Applied Science for course work undertaken in the joint academic programme between Lincoln University and BOKU University in Austria.

Jean-Marie says she has "great respect for those who create the fine wines for which New Zealand has become renowned around the world".

"Through my own work I hope to be able to offer the wine industry advice on how our vineyards can address the demand of consumers for wines produced under environmentally friendly and sustainable systems."