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Broccoli, carrots, peas, and maize have been planted in a bid to find out if crops could thrive in silt-ridden land. Photo: RNZ / Lauren Crimp
Research into how crops grow in silt could be used to help horticultural growers to recover following major weather events.
A silt study has examined the recovery of land which was covered in silt during Cyclone Gabrielle.
The focus was on 34 different sites in Hawke's Bay, Wairoa, Gisborne and Tolaga Bay and a range of crops were planted.
The study was managed by the Foundation for Arable Research, and had funding from MPI's North Island Weather Event Fund and Vegetable Research and innovation.
Horticultural consultant Alan Kale led the initiative and says there were really promising results in Hawkes Bay, which could bode well for future similar flooding events.