Miss Sandisiwe Jali and Prof. Brett Hurley of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) in FABI participated in two Wattle Field Days in northern KwaZulu-Natal and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on September 26 and October 8, respectively. The field days were organized by NCT, and included several informative indoor presentations, followed by field stops that included live demonstrations of the latest forestry equipment and silvicultural methods.

Sandisiwe and Brett provided an update on wattle pests and pathogens in South Africa, highlighting two new insect pests, Melanterius inconspicuus and Agrilus grandis, along with ongoing research on the pathogens Uromycladium acaciae, Phytophthora spp. and Ceratocystis. Their presentation also gave an overview of the current national forest pests and pathogens surveillance program. Other FABIans who attended the field days were Mr Khulekani “KC” Mbatha and Mr Sizwe Mthembu, both PhD candidates.