The Grain Research Program (GRP) is a newly established programme that was developed by a team of multidisciplinary grain researchers from different institutes and programmes at FABI and elsewhere in South Africa. The GRP was formed to engage directly with grain stakeholders to initiate research that will support this sector by identifying future challenges to the industry and exploring solutions to these challenges. To its stakeholders in agriculture, the GRP also provides extension and disease/pest diagnostic services. In other words, the vision of the GRP is to contribute to South Africa’s food security and bioeconomy by conducting basic and solution-oriented research, which in turn forms a base for further innovation in the South African agricultural sector. 

Other FABI programmes in the grain health domain:

Applied Mycology

Cereal Foliar Pathogen Research

DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology

Crop Floral Biology And Environments

Molecular Plant Physiology

Molecular Plant-Pathogen Interactions

Potato Pathology Programme

Seed Science

 

  

 

New Publications

Harikrishnan K, Rajeshkumar KC, Patil PM, Jeewon R, Visagie CM. (2025) Aspergillus dhakephalkarii and A. patriciawiltshireae spp. nov., two new species in Aspergillus sect. Nigri ser. Japonici (Eurotiales, Aspergillaceae) from India. Phytotaxa 695:57–79. 10.11646/phytotaxa.695.1.2
Mapfumo P, Archer E, Swanevelder ZH, Wilken M, Creux N, Read DA. (2025) Plant Pathology. Genomic Characterisation of Bidens mottle virus in South Africa and an Assessment of the Impact on Helianthus annuus (Sunflower) in an Open Field Setting 10.1111/ppa.14089
Stazione L, Corley JC, Allison JD, Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Lantschner MV. (2025) Novel associations among insect herbivores and trees: Patterns of occurrence and damage on pines and eucalypts. Ecological Applications 35:e70018. 10.1002/eap.70018
Townsend G, Hill M, Hurley BP, Roets F. (2025) Escalating threat: increasing impact of the polyphagous shot hole borer beetle, Euwallacea fornicatus, in nearly all major South African forest types. Biological Invasions 27 10.1007/s10530-025-03551-2 PDF
D’Angelo D, Hu H, Lahoz E, Risteski J, Steenkamp E T, Viscardi M, van der Nest M A, Wu Y, Yu H, Zhou J, Karandeni Dewage C S, Kotta-Loizou L I, Stotz H U, Fitt B D L, Huang Y, Hu Y, Kiss L, Sorrentino R, Nkomo T, Zhou X, Vaghefi N, Sonnekus B, Bose T, Cerrato D, Cozzolino L, Creux N, D’Agostino N, Fourie G, Fusco G, Hammerbacher A, Idnurm A, Wingfield BD. (2025) IMA GENOME - F20 A draft genome assembly of Agroathelia rolfsii, Ceratobasidium papillatum, Pyrenopeziza brassicae, Neopestalotiopsis macadamiae, Sphaerellopsis filum and genomic resources for Colletotrichum spaethianum and Colletotrichum fructicola. IMA Fungus 16:e141732. 10.3897/imafungus.16.141732
Muema EK, van Lill M, Venter SN, Claassens R, Steenkamp ET. (2025) Mesorhizobium salmacidum sp. nov. and Mesorhizobium argentiipisi sp. nov. are symbionts of the dry-land forage legumes Lessertia diffusa and Calobota sericea. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 19(3):1-20. 10.1007/s10482-025-02063-2
Motaung TE, Ratsoma FM, Kunene S, Santana QC, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD. (2025) Harnessing exogenous membrane vesicles for studying Fusarium circinatum and its biofilm communities. Microbial Pathogenesis 10.1016/j.micpath.2025.107368
van Dijk A, Wilson AM, Marx B, Hough B, Swalarsk-Parry BS, De Vos L, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD, Steenkamp ET. (2025) CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing reveals that the Pgs gene of Fusarium circinatum is involved in pathogenicity, growth and sporulation.. Fungal Genetics and Biology 10.1016/j.fgb.2025.103970
Botes J, Ma X, Chang J, Van de Peer Y, Berger DK. (2025) Flavonoids and anthocyanins in seagrasses: implications for climate change adaptation and resilience. Frontiers in Plant Science 15(1520474):1-17. 10.3389/fpls.2024.1520474
Wondafrash M, Wingfield MJ, Hurley BP, Slippers B, Mutitu EK, Jenya H, Paap T. (2025) DNA sequence data confirms the presence of two closely related cypress-feeding aphid species on African cypress (Widdringtonia spp.) in South Africa. Southern Forests 86:278-285. 10.2989/20702620.2024.2390863 PDF
Mangani R, Mazarura J, Matlou S, Marquart A, Archer E, Creux N. (2025) The impact of past and current district-level climatic shifts on maize production and the implications for South African farmers. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 156:109. 10.1007/s00704-024-05334-6
Pham NQ, Wingfield BD, Barnes I, Gazis R, Wingfield MJ. (2025) Elsinoe species: The rise of scab diseases. Plant Pathology 10.1111/ppa.14015
Martin G, Canavan K, Chikowore G, Bugan R, De Lange W, du Toit B, Harding G, Heath R, Hill M, Hurley BP, Ivey P, Muir D, Musedeli J, Richardson DM, Slippers B, Stafford L, Turner A, Watson K, van Wilgen BW. (2025) Managing wilding pines in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa: Progress and prospects. South African Journal of Botany 177:377-391. 10.1016/j.sajb.2024.12.011 PDF
Mangani R, Archer E, Engelbrecht C, Bellochi G, Mukiibi A, Creux N. 2025. The Impact of Climate Change on Crop Production and Food Security: A South African Perspective. In: Climate Change, Food Security, and Land Management. Leal Filho W, Matandirotya N, Yayeh Ayal D, Luetz JM, Borsari B. (eds). Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 1-12.
Goundar P, Slippers B, Hurley BP, Lawson SA. 2025. Classical biological control of bark and wood borers in Pinus plantations. In: Biological Control of Insect Pests in Plantation Forests. Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Slippers B. (eds). Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 321-338.
Hurley BP, Slippers B, Lawson SA. 2025. Biological control in plantation forests: trends and opportunities. In: Biological Control of Insect Pests in Plantation Forests. Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Slippers B. (eds). Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 3-18.
Slippers B, Fitza KNE, Garnas JR. 2025. Genetic diversity should be considered in biological control programmes in plantation forestry. In: Biological Control of Insect Pests in Plantation Forests. Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Slippers B. (eds). Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 71-94.
Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Hurley BP. 2025. Accidental introductions of natural enemies in plantation forests. In: Biological Control of Insect Pests in Plantation Forests. Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Slippers B. (eds). Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 161-190.
Swalarsk-Parry BS, De Vos L, Fru FF, Santana QC, van der Nest MA, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, Herron DA, Ramaswe JB, Dewing C, Sayari M, van der Merwe NA, van Wyk S, Lane FA, Wilson AM, Adegeye OO, Soal NC, Price J-L, Steenkamp ET. (2024) Wide variation in aggressiveness and growth in South African Fusarium circinatum isolates with geographical origin as the primary determinant. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science 10.2989/20702620.2024.2363749
Nkomo T, Bose T, Wingfield BD, Knoppersen R, Mbhele O, Nemesio‐Gorriz M, Rodas CA, Paetz C, Cilliers CT, Ferreira MA, Hammerbacher A. (2024) Geographic location shapes fungal communities associated with Epidendrum roots. Mycological Progress 23:54. 10.1007/s11557-024-01990-0
Visagie CM, Houbraken J, Yilmaz N. (2024) The re-identification of Penicillium and Talaromyces (Eurotiales) catalogued in South African culture collections. Persoonia 53:29–61. 10.3767/persoonia.2024.53.02
Nsibo DL, Barnes I, Berger DK. (2024) Recent advances in the population biology and management of maize foliar fungal pathogens Exserohilum turcicum, Cercospora zeina and Bipolaris maydis in Africa. Frontiers in Plant Science 15:1-23. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1404483
Yurkov A, Visagie CM, Crous PW, Hashimoto A, Baschien C, Begerow D, Kemler M, Schoutteten N, Stadler M, Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Zhang N, Boekhout T, Group IYW, May TW, Thines M, Hawksworth DL. (2024) Cultures as types and the utility of viable specimens for fungal nomenclature. IMA Fungus 15:20. 10.1186/s43008-024-00155-8
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Allison JD, Barreto RW, Boekhout T, Boers J, Delgado MA, Dewing C, Fitza KNE, Furtado ECA, Gaya E, Hill R, Hobden A, Hu DM, Hülsewig T, Khonsanit A, Luangsa-Ard JJ, Mthembu A, Pereira CM, Price J-L, Pringle A, Qikani N, Sandoval-Denis M, Shumacher RK, Seifert KA, Slippers B, Tennakoon DS, Thanakitpipattana D, vanVuuren N, Groenewald JZ, Crous PW. (2024) New and Interesting Fungi. 7.. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 13:441–494. 10.3114/fuse.2024.13.12 PDF
Bhunjun C, Chen Y, Phukhamsakda C, Boekhout T, Groenewald J, McKenzie E, Francisco E, Frisvad J, Groenewald M, Hurdeal V, Luangsa-ard J, Perrone G, Visagie C, Bai F, Błaszkowski J, Braun U, D Souza F, De Q, Dutta A, Gonkhom D, Goto B, Guarnaccia V, Hagen F, Houbraken J, Lachance M, Li J, Luo K, Magurno F, Mongkolsamrit S, Robert V, Roy N, Tibpromma S, Wanasinghe D, Wang D, Wei D, Zhao C, Aiphuk W, Ajayi-Oyetunde O, Arantes T, Araujo J, Begerow D, Bakhshi M, Barbosa R, Behrens F, Bensch K, Bezerra J, Bilański P, Bradley C, Bubner B, Burgess T, Buyck B, Čadež N, Cai L, Calaça F, Campbell L, Chaverri P, Chen Y, Chethana K, Coetzee B, Costa M, Chen Q, Custódio F, Dai Y, Damm U, De Azevedo-Santiago A, De Miccolis-Angelini R, Dijksterhuis J, Dissanayake A, Doilom M, Dong W, Alvarez-Duarte E, Fischer M, Gajanayake A, Gené J, Gomdola D, Gomes A, Hausner G, He M, Hou L, Iturrieta-González I, Jami F, Jankowiak R, Jayawardena R, Kandemir H, Kiss L, Kobmoo N, Kowalski T, Landi L, Lin C, Liu J, Liu X, Loizides M, Luangharn T, Maharachchikumbura S, Makhathini Mkhwanazi G, Manawasinghe I, Marin-Felix Y, McTaggart A, Moreau P, Morozova O, Mostert L, Osiewacz H, Pem D, Phookamsak R, Pollastro S, Pordel A, Poyntner C, Phillips A, Phonemany M, Promputtha I, Rathnayaka A, Rodrigues A, Romanazzi G, Rothmann L, Salgado-Salazar C, Sandoval-Denis M, Saupe S, Scholler M, Scott P, Shivas R, Silar P, Souza-Motta C, Silva-Filho A, Spies C, Stchigel A, Sterflinger K, Summerbell R, Svetasheva T, Takamatsu S, Theelen B, Theodoro R, Thines M, Thongklang N, Torres R, Turchetti B, Van den Brule T, Wang X, Wartchow F, Welti S, Wijesinghe S, Wu F, Xu R, Yang Z, Yilmaz N, Yurkov A, Zhao L, Zhao R, Zhou N, Hyde K, Crous P. (2024) What are the 100 most cited fungal genera?. Studies in Mycology 108:1-411. 10.3114/sim.2024.108.01
Visagie CM, Cruywagen EM, Duong TA. (2024) A new Paecilomyces from wooden utility poles in South Africa. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 13:163–181. 10.3114/fuse.2024.13.10
Ramaswe JB, Steenkamp ET, De Vos L, Fru FF, Adegeye OO, Wingfield BD. (2024) Sex pheromone receptor Ste2 orchestrates chemotropic growth towards pine root extracts in the pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum. Pathogens 13:425. 10.3390/pathogens13050425
Marais I, Buitendag C, Duong TA, Crampton BG, Theron J, Kidanemarium D, Berger DK. (2024) Double-stranded RNA uptake for the control of the maize pathogen Cercospora zeina. Plant Pathology 73(6):1480-1490. 10.1111/ppa.13909
Visagie CM, Meyer H, Yilmaz N. (2024) Maize–Fusarium associations and their mycotoxins: Insights from South Africa. Fungal Biology 10.1016/j.funbio.2024.03.009
Dankie VN, Steenkamp ET, De Vos L, Swalarsk-Parry BS, Dewing C, Fru F, Wilken PM, Mchunu NP, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, van der Nest MA. (2024) Growth, pathogenicity and sexual fertility of the African tree pathogen Ceratocystis albifundus. Journal of Plant Pathology :1-11. 10.1007/s42161-024-01634-y
Bornman S, Thomas C, Ntladi S, Wilken PM. (2024) Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is the causal agent of Sclerotinia stem rot on peanut (groundnut) in South Africa. Australasian Plant Disease Notes 19 10.1007/s13314-024-00537-2
Abkallo HM, Arbuthnot P, Auer TO, Berger DK, Burger J, Chakauya E, Concordet J-P, Diabate A, Di Donato V, Groenewald J-H, Guindo A, Koekemoer LL, Nazare F, Nolan T, Okumu F, Orefuwa E, Paemka L, Prieto-Godino L, Runo S, Sadler M, Tesfaye K, Tripathi L, Wondji C. (2024) Making genome editing a success story in Africa. Nature Biotechnology :1-4. https://rdcu.be/dBJUa
Hiroyuki S, Marincowitz S, Roux J, Paap T, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2024) A new genus and species of Cryphonectriaceae causing stem cankers on plantation eucalypts in South Africa. Plant Pathology :1-14. 10.1111/ppa.13883 PDF
Mapfumo P, Buthelezi S, Archer E, Swanevelder DZH, Wilken PM, Creux N. (2024) In-field climatic factors driving Sclerotinia head rot progression across different sunflower planting dates. Plant Pathology 10.1111/ppa.13873
Price J-L, Visagie CM, Meyer H, Yilmaz N. (2024) Fungal species and mycotoxins Associated with Maize ear rots collected from the Eastern Cape in South Africa. Toxins 16:95. 10.3390/toxins16020095
MISEV Consortium, Motaung T. (2024) Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 13(2):e12404. 10.1002/jev2.12404
Francinah M. Ratsoma, Nthabiseng Z. Mokoena, Quentin C. Santana, Brenda D. Wingfield, Emma T. Steenkamp, Thabiso E. Motaung. (2024) Characterization of the Fusarium circinatum biofilm environmental response role. Journal of Basic Microbiology 00(00):1-16. 10.1002/jobm.202300536
Visagie CM, Meijer M, Kraak B, Groenewald M, Houbraken J, Theelen B, Vorst Y, Boekhout T. (2024) Blastobotrys nigripullensis, a new yeast species isolated from a fungal outbreak on an ancient Roman shipwreck in the Netherlands. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 117:22. 10.1007/s10482-023-01898-x
De Vos L, van der Nest MA, Santana QC, van Wyk S, Leeuwendaal KS, Wingfield BD, Steenkamp ET. (2024) Chromosome-level assemblies for the pine pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum. Pathogens 13(1):70. 10.3390/pathogens13010070
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Kocsubé S, Frisvad JC, Hubka V, Samson RA, Houbraken J. (2024) A review of recently introduced Aspergillus, Penicillium, Talaromyces and other Eurotiales species. Studies in Mycology 107:1–66. 10.3114/sim.2024.107.01
Pham NQ, Wingfield MJ, Marincowitz S, Tanga AA, Tiki KR, Kassie WB, Hurley BP, Germishuizen I, Lawson SA, Healey MA, Wondafrash M. (2024) First report of the wattle rust pathogen, Uromycladium acaciae (Raveneliaceae, Pucciniales) in Ethiopia. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research :1–8. 10.1093/forestry/cpad040 PDF
Berger DK. 2024. Diseases of maize/corn (Chapter 30). In: Agrios' Plant Pathology (Sixth Edition). Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 739-746.
Rakubu IL, Katumanyane A, Hurley BP. (2023) Host-foraging strategies of five local entomopathogenic nematode species in South Africa. Crop Protection 176:106525. 10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106525
Rakubu IL, Katumanyane A, Hurley BP. (2023) Screening five local entomopathogenic nematode species for their virulence against pupae of the Eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus sp. n. 2, under laboratory conditions . Crop Protection 176:106500. 10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106500
Omondi DO, Dida MM, Berger DK, Beyene Y, Nsibo DL, Juma C, Mahabaleswara SL, Gowda M. (2023) Combination of Linkage and Association Mapping with Genomic Prediction to Infer QTL Regions Associated with Gray Leaf Spot and Northern Corn Leaf Blight Resistance in Tropical Maize. Frontiers in Genetics 14:1-16. 10.3389/fgene.2023.1282673
Robert Mangani, Kpoti M. Gunn, Nicky Creux. (2023) Projecting the effect of climate change on planting date and cultivar choice for South African dryland maize production. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 341(15):109695. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109695
Visagie CM, Magistà D, Ferrara M, Balocchi F, Duong TA, Eichmeier A, Gramaje D, Aylward J, Baker SE, Barnes I, Calhoun S, De Angelis M, Frisvad JC, Hakalova E, Hayes RD, Houbraken J, Grigoriev IV, LaButti K, Leal C, Lipzen C, Ng V, Pangilinan J, Pecenka J, Perrone G, Piso A, Savage E, Spetik E, Wingfield MJ, Zhang Y, Wingfield BD. (2023) IMA genome-F18 - The reidentification of Penicillium genomes available in the NCBI and draft genomes for Penicillium species from dry cured meat, Penicillium biforme, P. brevicompactum, P. solitum, and P. cvjetkovicii, Pewenomyces kutranfy, Pew. lalenivora, Pew. tapulicola, Pew. kalosus, Teratosphaeria carnegiei, and Trichoderma atroviridae SC1. IMA Fungus 14(21) 10.1186/s43008-023-00121-w
Welgemoed T, Duong TA, Barnes I, Stukenbrock EH, Berger DK. (2023) Population genomic analyses suggest recent dispersal events of the pathogen Cercospora zeina into East and Southern African maize cropping systems. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics 10.1093/g3journal/jkad214
Avontuur JR, Wilken PM, Palmer M, Coetzee MPA, Stępkowski T, Venter SN, Steenkamp ET. (2023) Complex evolutionary history of photosynthesis in Bradyrhizobium. Microbial Genomics 9(9) 10.1099/mgen.0.001105
Claassens R, Venter SN, Beukes CW, Stępkowski T, Chan WY, Steenkamp ET. (2023) Bradyrhizobium xenonodulans sp. nov. isolated from nodules of Australian Acacia species invasive to South Africa. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 10.1016/j.syapm.2023.126452