The Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture advises vegetable producers. The advisory staff in most main producing areas is backed by specialist officers in laboratories and experimental areas. District experimental and demonstration work is an important part of the advisory service and is carried out on growers' properties, as well as on experimental areas at Avondale, near Auckland, and at Invermay, near Dunedin. The Horticultural Research Station at Levin deals mainly with vegetable research. The Crop Research Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research carries out plant breeding and selection at Otara, near Auckland, and at Lincoln. The Plant Diseases Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, at Auckland and Lincoln provides a diagnostic service for pests and diseases and, as well, studies diseases and pests of vegetable crops and means for their control. Other scientific work is carried out by Cawthron Institute, in Nelson, and the Agricultural College at Lincoln and Massey University of Manawatu.