FABIans celebrate another PhD in the bag at Chrizelle Beukes’s prestige seminar
Chrizelle Beukes successfully defended her PhD thesis on 18 June, fulfilling all the requirements for a PhD degree.
21 Jun 2019
19 Jun 2019
Benedicta Swalarsk-Parry beats 40 competitors to win Inqaba Biotec’s mini pipetting contest
For her precision and dexterity, FABI PhD student Benedicta Swalarsk-Parry was crowned “Pipetting Ninja” at a mini pipetting competition hosted by Inqaba Biotec at FABI on 5 June.
19 Jun 2019
FABI Postdoc presents a seminar on the dangers of unregulated plant movement throughout history
Dr Trudy Paap’s seminar “Plants, people and places” on 10 June chronicled the movement of plants through history and warned of the dangers of unregulated importation of plant material.
18 Jun 2019
FABI ships biocontrol agent to Uganda
Thaumastocoris peregrinus, the bronze bug, is not only a pest attacking Eucalyptus in South Africa but is also a problem in several other African countries.
1 Jun 2019
Seven FABI researchers honoured at the UP 2019 Academic Achievers’ Awards ceremony
The University of Pretoria honoured its best academics on 21 May, including seven researchers from FABI.
31 May 2019
French Researchers in South Africa meet in FABI
FABI recently hosted a meeting for French researchers in South Africa.
31 May 2019
Kenyan student makes second lab training visit to FABI
A MSc student in Plant Breeding from Maseno University in Western Kenya, made his second visit to the Molecular Plant-Pathogen Interactions research group in FABI.
28 May 2019
FABI student wins best poster prize at SANSOR congress
Carol-Ann Segal won the prize for best MSc Research Poster presentation at the 30th Annual SANSOR Congress.
23 May 2019
FABI MSc graduate scoops international wood science innovation award
FABI MSc graduate, Martin Wierzbicki scooped the 2018-2019 Blue Sky Young Researchers and Innovation Award in Vancouver, Canada, on 14 May.
22 May 2019
FABI home to the Mike Wingfield Library
FABI is now home to the Mike Wingfield Library, a collection of more than 1300 books donated to the FABI Archive by Prof. Mike Wingfield.
22 May 2019
Post TPCP meetings field trip
A group of FABIans accompanied some of the overseas guests who attended the TPCP Annual Meeting, on a week long field trip.
20 May 2019
Gearing up for a pest and pathogen arms race
Tree health practitioners discuss technological advances and re-emerging threats to the world’s forests on the last day of the 30th TPCP Annual Meeting
19 May 2019
Prof. Mike Wingfield shares insights on running a successful tree health programme
At this year's Annual TPCP meetings, Prof. Mike Wingfield shared seven attributes he considered central to the success of the 30-year-old programme.
19 May 2019
The power of partnerships, basic research and new technologies highlighted at the 30th Annual Meeting of the TPCP
The Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) hosted its 30th annual meeting at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus on 14 May.
18 May 2019
The DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology celebrates 15 years of tree health research
The DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) hosted its 15th annual meeting at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus on 13 May.
16 May 2019
FABI at the IUFRO Shoot, Leaf And Wilt Diseases Meeting in Italy
FABI enjoyed a significant presence at the IUFRO meeting focused on shoot, leaf and wilt diseases of forest trees held from the 6th to the 10th May in Italy)
7 May 2019
PSHB survey in Northern Cape Pecan orchards
A team of four FABIans, together two staff members of the South African Pecan Producers Association (SAPPA), spent last week surveying pecan orchards in the Northern Cape for the presence of PSHB (Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer) infestations.
2 May 2019
Dr Cobus Visagie to join FABI
The University of Pretoria (UP) has appointed Dr Cobus Visagie as Associate Professor and will join FABI from June 2019. Dr Visagie currently works as senior researcher at the ARC, and hold extraordinary positions at UP and Stellenbosch University.
30 Apr 2019
FABI shines at the Autumn Graduation
Congratulations to those FABIans that were capped at the Autumn Graduation Ceremony of the University of Pretoria.
29 Apr 2019
Danielle Roodt successfully defends her PhD thesis
Danielle Roodt successfully defended her PhD entitled “The evolution of xylogenesis in the vascular plants” during her Prestige Seminar on 23 April, becoming the sixth FABIan to be awarded their PhD this year.
28 Apr 2019
Shothole Borer meetings in the Cape Peninsula
Profs Wilhelm de Beer from FABI, and Francois Roets from Stellenbosch University, participated in a number of PSHB related meetings in the Cape Peninsula during the past week.
26 Apr 2019
Congratulations to Eric Visser on successfully defending his Ph.D
Erik Visser successfully defended his Ph.D. after he presented a Prestige Seminar entitled “Transcriptomic model of resistance mechanisms in the Pinus-Fusarium circinatum interaction” on 18 April.
25 Apr 2019
FABIans attend the Black Women in Science inaugural gala dinner
FABI Ph.D. candidates Benedicta Swalarsk-Parry and Khumbuzile Bophela attended the inaugural Black Women in Science (BWIS) gala dinner on 6 April.
25 Apr 2019
The Mondi Chair in Forest Pathology: Celebration of a 25 year investment
Mondi South Africa, part of the leading international paper and pulp company began its investment in the Mondi Chair in Forest Pathology in 1994. On Monday 17 April Mondi held a celebration at their Homeleigh Guest House in Kwambonmbi to recognize the contributions of the Mondi Chair in Forest Pathology.
23 Apr 2019
Fourth FABI Ph.D. for 2019
Caryn Oates become the fourth FABIan to be awarded their Ph. Leptocybe invasa is a gall wasp that causes significant damage to Eucalyptus plantations in South Africa. It was found that L.
18 Apr 2019
FABIans celebrate Zander Human’s prestige seminar
Zander Human successfully defended his PhD thesis after presenting his prestige seminar in the FABI auditorium on 16 April, meeting all the requirements for a doctoral degree. Protea repens grow on nutrient-poor soil in the fynbos biome, a habitat prone to fire. Zander identified not only fungal communities present in the structures but also bacterial communities.
17 Apr 2019
FABI PhD student wins prize at Joint Genome Institute User Meeting in San Francisco
FABI team members Prof. Lazarus Takawira, a PhD student under the supervisor of Dr Steven Hussey and the author of the paperback Imagine Africa, flew the FABI banner high by scooping the Best Student Poster award. Lazarus’ research made extensive use of a JGI Community DNA Synthesis Grant awarded to his supervisor, Dr Hussey, in 2016. Captions: 1. 2.
12 Apr 2019
Exciting initial results towards the management of the pine emperor moth
FABIans Dr Marc Bouwer, Luki-Marie Scheepers and Rosa Knoppersen had a short field trip to Bulwer in April to to service and remove pine emperor moth pheromone traps that were previously deployed in that area.
10 Apr 2019
Guide on biological control of insect pests in forests published
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has published a “Guide to the classical biological control of insect pests in planted and natural forests”. The guide includes information on the processes leading to classical biological control (CBC), the implementation of CBC and post-release monitoring and evaluation of CBC agents.
9 Apr 2019
FABIans participate in a Biosafety symposium
The second annual Biosafey SA symposium was held in Pretoria at the beautiful Diep in die Berg conference centre on 14 March. Michael Pepper from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Health Sciences kick-started the symposium with a thought-provoking presentation addressing the ethical, legal and social implications of human genetics and genomics.
8 Apr 2019
FABI researchers co-organize international low-cost viral diagnostics workshop featuring open-source technologies
A Global Challenges Research Fund-supported international collaboration, aiming to develop point-of-care low cost viral diagnostic (LCVD) assays, convened at Future Africa for a three-day workshop from 13-15 March 2019.
5 Apr 2019
New UP Vice Chancellor visits FABI
The University of Pretoria’s recently inaugurated Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Tawana Kupe visited FABI on 1 April, addressing staff and students at the weekly Monday Morning Meeting.
4 Apr 2019
An “Engaging Plant Scientists” initiative
During the March school holidays, the Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Research Programme hosted a grade 10 learner, Mbali Mogashwa, and a third year BSc Microbiology student, Rose Shabangu for a day.
3 Apr 2019
Mites and malformations close to home
Floral malformation is an important disease problem on mango trees where it is associated with various Fusarium spp.
2 Apr 2019
CFTPP Team at CERC’s 40 km team building walk
The whole year's work depends on a good start in spring, and the work for the year is best begun in spring.
1 Apr 2019
Dr Wayne Hancock visits the Macadamia Protection Programme and presents a special seminar at FABI
Dr Wayne Hancock of Southern Cross University, Australia visited Dr Gerda Fourie, research leader of the Macadamia Protection Programme in FABI, from 25 to 28 March.