Pictures speak 1000 words about plant health 2021-05-24
To celebrate the International Year of Plant Health 2020 and the role plants play in our lives, the South African National Seed Organization (SANSOR) organised a photo competition for professionals and amateurs alike. Pictures can speak more than a thousand words and that is what SANSOR wanted to achieve with this competition. Entrants were asked to share one photograph that depicted either: healthy plants without disease; plants with disease; the landscape around important plants; or the factors influencing plant health. Darryl Herron, a PhD candidate at FABI and avid science communicator, submitted his photo of a Wattle emperor moth larvae, Gynanisa maia, that he found causing severe defoliation in the Piet Retief of South Africa. Darryl says, “Pests of different shapes and sizes affect the health of many commercially and environmentally important species. Sharing these images with the International Year of Plant Health in mind, means that we can make people aware of the various factors affecting plant health.” For sharing his photograph of this “voracious feeder,” Darryl was awarded the runner up prize.