Three Avocado Research Programme (ARP) members (Tsakani Miyambo, Alicia Fick and Makhosazana Ngema) recently completed a field trip aimed to collect Rosellinia necatrix samples from avocado orchards in the Mpumalanga province. These samples, together with samples collected from other provinces, will be used to complete a population study which may possibly hint at how this pathogen has spread through South Africa. Five farms were visited in the region and hundreds of samples were collected – bad news for the farmers since common avocado rootstocks are susceptible to the pathogen. However, it was noted that some older trees heavily infected with R. neatrix showed very little disease symptoms. This is very exciting and encourages future studies to investigate the interaction between R. necatrix and avocado rootstocks more closely. The ARP would like to thank the farmers for their support and kindness, as we would not have been able to complete this field trip without them.