During the week of 26 October 2026, members of the Tree Protection Cooperative Programme (TPCP), namely Sandisiwe Jali, Prof. Brett Hurley, and Prof. Irene Barnes, conducted a pest and disease workshop for MTO and undertook other TPCP extension-related activities. The workshop took place at MTO’s Blue Lillies bush forestry offices and attended by members of their planning department, enumeration teams, plantation managers, foresters, and interns from MTO.
The workshop included indoor presentations by TPCP team members on pine pests and diseases, as well as an introduction to the Information Hub as a tool for field data collection. This was followed by in-field identification of pests and pathogens and how to collect samples for submission at the TPCP Diagnostic Clinic.
Other TPCP Extension activities during the week included a visit to various nurseries belonging to MTO and PG Bison, as well as tree health investigations at various Pinus radiata compartments stretching from George to Tsitsikamma.
The TPCP team would like to sincerely thank Anton de Beer from MTO for his assistance in planning and coordinating the workshop. We also extend our appreciation to all workshop attendees for their enthusiasm, active participation in discussions, and engagement during the field visits.
Our thanks also go to Mariske and Richard Madden from PG Bison for taking the team around their plantations and nursery, as well as Don Smith from Ezigro for showing the team around the nursery at Karatara. We greatly appreciate the time and effort everyone contributed towards making the visit a success.