I am currently doing FABI internship in Phytosanitation and Biosecurity.

I completed my undergraduate degree (BSc Agric- plant pathology) and my postgraduate degree (MSc Agric- plant pathology) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. My honours research project investigated the antagonistic effects of the yeast, Aureobasidium pullulans against Fusarium solani of ‘mondial’ potato. The in vitro and in vivo screening of A. pullulans against F. solani was conducted. The results obtained indicated that A. pullulans has antifungal effects against F. solani as the mycelia of the pathogen was reduced, and therefore can be used as an alternative control methods to replace the use of fungicides which may have detrimental effects on human health and environment. The excessive application of fungicides may also cause pathogens to develop resistant strains towards certain fungicides.

My Masters research titled: intergrated control of postharvest Fusarium solani of potato using UV-C irradiation and Moringa oleifera leaf extracts extracts aimed to investigate the effect of UV-C irradiation and Moringa leaf extract, independently and their combined effect in controlling F. solani in vitro and on potatoes. The results showed that the integrated treatments enhanced the efficacy compared to the application of either treatment as the mycelia of F. solani and disease incidence of dry rot was significantly reduced. The scanning electron micrograph images showed abnormal, shrinkage, disruption, aggregation and reduced hyphae length of mycelia in samples treated with both UV-C and MLE. The finding suggested that UV-C can be integrated with moringa and be used as alternatives to synthetic fungicides to control dry rot of potatoes.