Professor Olufemi Akinsanmi from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at the University of Queensland in Australia recently visited members of the Macadamia Protection Program (MaPP). His visit started with a mini symposium held at FABI where Dr Gerda Fourie and members of the group provided him with an overview of on-going research projects. This was followed by various visits to farms in the Mpumalanga province and it also included a visit to the ARC Tropical and Subtropical Crops in Mbombela as well as a short trip to the Kruger National Park.  

Prof Olufemi Akinsanmi, Dr Gerda Fourie and Dr Rosali Moffat then travelled to KwaZulu-Natal to attend the 9^th International Macadamia Symposium which was held from 19-21September at Zimbali, Ballito. The first day kicked off with a researcher meeting which was aimed at discussion global issues relating to Macadamia production and establishing collaborations between researchers from various different macadamia growing countries. The following day the 700 delegates officially opened the symposium with an interactive drumming session which was followed by short presentations from each macadamia growing country in order to provide updates about their specific industries. During the symposium Dr Gerda Fourie presented a talk on managing Macadamia nut diseases in orchards as well as a talk on biological control of insect pests whereas Dr Rosali Moffat provided an update regarding her research on the Macadamia felted coccid. The symposium ended off with various farms visits where Dr Fourie and Dr Moffat had the opportunity to talk about pests and diseases and the importance of the FABI diagnostic clinic.