Senior Regional Technical Advisor, Fruitfed Supplies - KATIKATI NZ
CATEGORY: SUSTAINABILITY
Tayah Ryan currently holds a senior role in Fruitfed's Technical Team and is responsible for research and extension in New Zealand's subtropical crops, notably kiwifruit, avocadoes and citrus. Tayah has been nominated in the Sustainability category for her dedication to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.
Tayah joined Fruitfed's Technical Team in 2010, around the same time the devastating bacterial disease, Psa-V, hit the kiwifruit industry. Since then, she has worked closely with industry bodies, science providers and agrichemical suppliers to help growers navigate themselves out of an impending catastrophe as the disease threatened the entire industry.
Tayah lead the development of the crop protection strategy for all of Fruitfed's growers and fronted the extension to growers, advisers and packing sheds. She regularly travels offshore to meet with subject matter experts to ensure New Zealand kiwifruit growers are getting the most up-to-date and best agronomic advice possible. In 2015, she presented her research on Psa control at the International Symposium on Psa in Italy. Aside from this, Tayah manages fully-replicated, field trials from initial design, to final reporting, to better understand efficacy and crop safety profiles of agrichemical products across a number of subtropical crops.
Tayah was heavily involved in the field development of Actigard and helped Syngenta successfully bring it to market under urgency. Actigard is a high-maintenance product and she now works with us on important aspects of stewardship. Lastly, Tayah is highly respected at all levels within the kiwifruit, avocado and citrus industries for her dedication and expertise.