Mad Mac Flower blight fieldtrip 2021-10-18
During the week of 5 October, the Macadamia Protection Programme was in Mpumalanga for an on-going flower blight survey. This survey started in August and consists of a survey to collect fungi on four commercial macadamia farms in the Mbombela, Kiepersol, White River and Barberton regions. Flowers displaying disease are sampled every three weeks. In addition, the weather data (temperature and relative humidity) is collected via iButtons. The survey forms part of an ongoing MSc project of Gerhard Botha that aims to characterise the fungal pathogens responsible for flower blight on South African macadamias. The field trips were also used to link with industry and farmers, with farm consultations conducted upon request. This was the fourth and final flower blight field trip coinciding with the end of flowering. Well done Gerhard, Byron and Elisa!