The situation the world’s population currently finds itself in with the global-spread of the COVID-19 virus – just one invisible pathogen - bears direct parallels to the research work that has been done in the TPCP over the past 31 years in combatting plantation tree pests and diseases.
Climate change is an undisputed challenge to commercial forestry worldwide. It brings with it changes not only to the environment but also the opportunity for pests and diseases to colonize new areas, previously unsuitable for their survival.
The 31st Annual meeting of the TPC and CPHB in FABI was held on the 12 May.
articipants attending the first online meeting of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) and the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology(CPHB) on 12 May contemplated the state of partnerships between academia and industry.
The FABI community is delighted with three of its researchers awarded Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellowships.
On 8 May, the CFTPP Team at CERC planted Eucalyptus urophylla genotypes in experimental plot that will be used for experiments on the biology of Calonectria species that cause a serious leaf blight disease.
In anticipation of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) and DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology (CPHB) meeting on Tuesday 11 May, various members of the TPCP Management Committee joined FABI and TPCP Director Prof. Bernard Slippers for an online Zoom meeting to test the system.
FABI runs numerous Journal Clubs. Importantly these have continued to meet during the COVID-19 lockdown, albeit using virtual platforms.
Renate Zipfel, manager of the DNA Sequencing Facility in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology (BGM) reflects on working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Despite the many complications relating to the global CoViD-19 crisis, FABI has continued to maintain substantial research momentum.
The University of Pretoria has appointed Dr Marinda Visser as the Director: Strategic Projects and Partnerships in Agriculture - Innovation Africa@UP with effect from 1 May 2020.
Members of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) Diagnostic Clinic team travelled to Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal in March for the annual Diagnostic Clinic training trip.
February's extension trip took Caitlin Gevers, Darryl Herron, Daniella Kramer and Jenna-Lee Price to some exotic locations around Mkhondo in Mpumalanga, the wild lands of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland), Greytown and Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal.
At the FABI Biocontrol Centre on the experimental farm of the university, several living collections of organisms are being maintained, particularly for the TPCP Biocontrol research.
Elisa Pal, a PhD candidate in FABI’s Macadamia Protection Programme explains how she cares for her colony of stink bugs during the Covid-19 lockdown.
FABI celebrates with the 68 graduates affiliated with the Institute whose degrees were conferred at the University of Pretoria’s first virtual graduation ceremony on 6 April.
Two articles on the valuable work done at FABI on monitoring and surveillance of the polyphagous shothole borer were re-published in the February edition of Wood Southern Africa & Timber Times.
The 13th South African Plant Breeders Symposium was held at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus from 8-11 March. A special afternoon session was set aside for University of Pretoria students to organise and was sponsored by Corteva™Agriscience.
The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria (UP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with specialised service provider Cropwatch Africa.
Alisa Postma, a PhD candidate in FABI and a research assistant at the Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, relates her experiences of working from home during lockdown. As we pass the (planned) halfway mark of our lockdown period in South Africa, I find myself making mental lists of what to do when I get my freedom back. That being said, finding a work-life balance with none of the external help I usually depend on has not been easy.
Three Fabians rushed to do obtain the final results of a one year long inoculation trial with the PSHB fungus on pecans before the COVID-19 lockdown.
FABIans Professors Brenda and Mike Wingfield are on lock down in their home in Brooklyn, Pretoria. Brenda shares some of her thoughts on this unexpected twist in their lives.
Dr Seonju Marincowitz is a mycologist and curator of the FABI Culture collection. Here are some of her thoughts on working from home during the lockdown period
FABI research Fellow Dr Neriman Yilmaz shares with us her thoughts on working from home, like so many other FABIans, during the CoViD-19 lockdown.
In 2017, a collaborative project was developed with the aim of understanding the distribution and genetic diversity of Eucalyptus insect pests and their natural enemies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Professor Jeremy Allison (Extraordinary Professor in FABI at UP) joined Luki-Marie Scheepers, Josephine Queffelec, Elisa Pal and Quentin Guignard on a field trip to Underberg, near the Drakensberg from 2-4 March.
A small group of FABI researchers assisted in an “emergency transplant” of a consignment of pine tree seedlings on 20 March. It is imperative that these seedlings were replanted as they would not otherwise survive in the trays and it would be a significant setback for the project if they died.
Thursday morning seminars (TMS) continued on 19 March, albeit now from the FABI boardroom and using video conferencing.
FABI hosted a visit by two research and development specialists from the Brazilian-based forestry company Suzano Pulp and Paper. During their visit to FABI on 12 March, the visitors participated in a round table discussion including FABI Director Prof.
FABI handed out long service certificates to 25 staff members at the Monday morning meeting on 16 March.
FABI has officially launched an Applied Chemical Ecology satellite laboratory and research programme in co-operation with Natural Resources Canada. The group’s research interests lie at the interface of behavioral chemical ecology and pest management.
The Manager of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Precision Medicine at the CSIR, Dr Deepak Balaji Thimiri Govinda Raj invited FABIans to collaborate with the Centre’s researchers during a presentation at the Monday Morning Meeting.
FABI Research Fellow, Dr.
The DSI-NRF Centre for Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) in FABI welcomed 10 interns on 2 March.
