All field trips and field extension work undertaken by the staff and students of the CTHB is coordinated by Prof Jolanda Roux. She also ensures that reports on these trips and research findings are communicated to relevant stakeholders. The extension component of the CTHB involves the presentation of talks at research meetings and field days, publication of articles in newsletters and newspapers as well as radio interviews to educate the public regarding tree health.

Research in the Kruger National Park (KNP)

In the latter part of 2004, the CTHB formed an alliance with the KNP in order to study the diseases of trees in the park.

One of the main projects constituting this research agreement was to investigate fungi and insects associated with wounds on trees caused by elephants in KNP. Additional projects have been initiated to identify any possible serious tree diseases present in the reserve.

(See "Information Nuggets" for more detail)

African collaborations

Insect pests and pathogens do not recognize international boundaries, making it crucial for collaboration between different countries in order to effectively manage tree diseases. There has thus been a strong drive by the TPCP and CTHB to build collaborations with researchers in other African countries, including Cameroon, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Several disease survey trips are regularly undertaken to these countries, where most activities focus on the health of Myrtales, Adansonia digitata and other savanna tree species.

(See "Information Nuggets" for more detail)

Pest and Pathogen Diagnostic Clinic

The TPCP and CTHB maintain a world-class disease and insect pest Diagnostic Clinic. In addition to providing an invaluable service to the South African Forestry Industry, the Diagnostic Clinic also provides stakeholders with the capacity to identify insect pest and disease outbreaks associated with native trees.

For more information about the disease and insect pest Diagnostic Clinic, please visit: TPCP Services.

New Publications

Joubert M, van den Berg N, Theron J, Swart V. (2024) Global transcriptomic analysis in avocado nursery trees reveals differential gene expression during asymptomatic infection by avocado sunblotch viroid (ASBVd). Virus Research 339:199263. 10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199263. PDF
Rakubu IL, Katumanyane A, Hurley BP. (2023) Host-foraging strategies of five local entomopathogenic nematode species in South Africa. Crop Protection 176:106525. 10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106525
Barten H, Schröder ML, Slippers B, Howe AG, Lawson SA, Hurley BP. (2023) Reproductive compatibility of a newly imported Australian population of the biocontrol agent Anaphes nitens with an existing South African population. Biological Control 187:105403. 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105403 PDF
Anbu SP, Swart V, van den Berg N. (2023) Unmasking the invaders: NLR-mal function in plant defense. Frontiers in Plant Science 14:1307294. 10.3389/fpls.2023.1307294 PDF
Pham NQ, Duong TA, Wingfield BD, Barnes I, Duran A, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Characterisation of the mating-type loci in species of Elsinoe causing scab diseases. Fungal Biology 10.1016/j.funbio.2023.11.003
Backer R, Naidoo S, van den Berg N. (2023) The expression of the NPR1-dependent defense response pathway genes in Persea americana (Mill.) following infection with Phytophthora cinnamomi. BMC Plant Biology 23(1):548. 10.1186/s12870-023-04541-z PDF
Rakubu IL, Katumanyane A, Hurley BP. (2023) Screening five local entomopathogenic nematode species for their virulence against pupae of the Eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus sp. n. 2, under laboratory conditions . Crop Protection 176:106500. 10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106500
Granados GM, Rodas CA, Vivas M, Wingfield MJ, Barnes I. (2023) Patterns of Dothistroma septosporum conidial dispersal in Colombian Pinus tecunumanii plantations. Forest Pathology (00):e12834. 10.1111/efp.12834
Bose T, Hammerbacher A, Spies CFJ, Coutinho TA. (2023) Phytophthora: an underestimated threat to agriculture, forestry, and natural ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa. Mycological Progress 22:78. 10.1007/s11557-023-01926-0
Robert Mangani, Kpoti M. Gunn, Nicky Creux. (2023) Projecting the effect of climate change on planting date and cultivar choice for South African dryland maize production. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 341(15):109695. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109695
Wilson AM, Coetzee MPA, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. (2023) Needles in fungal haystacks: Discovery of a putative a-factor pheromone and a unique mating strategy in the Leotiomycetes. PLOS One 18(10):e0292619. 10.1371/ journal.pone.0292619 PDF
Visagie CM, Magistà D, Ferrara M, Balocchi F, Duong TA, Eichmeier A, Gramaje D, Aylward J, Baker SE, Barnes I, Calhoun S, De Angelis M, Frisvad JC, Hakalova E, Hayes RD, Houbraken J, Grigoriev IV, LaButti K, Leal C, Lipzen C, Ng V, Pangilinan J, Pecenka J, Perrone G, Piso A, Savage E, Spetik E, Wingfield MJ, Zhang Y, Wingfield BD. (2023) IMA genome-F18 - The reidentification of Penicillium genomes available in the NCBI and draft genomes for Penicillium species from dry cured meat, Penicillium biforme, P. brevicompactum, P. solitum, and P. cvjetkovicii, Pewenomyces kutranfy, Pew. tapulicola, Pew. kalosus, Teratosphaeria carnegiei, and Trichoderma atroviridae SC1. IMA Fungus 14(21) 10.1186/s43008-023-00121-w
Welgemoed T, Duong TA, Barnes I, Stukenbrock EH, Berger DK. (2023) Population genomic analyses suggest recent dispersal events of the pathogen Cercospora zeina into East and Southern African maize cropping systems. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics 10.1093/g3journal/jkad214
Wingfield MJ, Pham NQ, Marincowitz S, Duong TA, Wingfield BD, Wilson AM. (2023) Blast from the past: a study of decades-old fungal cultures resolves a long-standing tree disease mystery. Journal of Plant Pathology 10.1007/s42161-023-01502-1
Tarigan M, Wingfield MJ, Marpaung YMAN, Duran A, Pham NQ. (2023) Quambalaria eucalypti found on Eucalyptus in Indonesia. Forest Pathology :e12829. 10.1111/efp.12829 PDF
Narh Mensah DL , Wingfield BD, Coetzee MPA. (2023) A practical approach to genome assembly and annotation of Basidiomycota using the example of Armillaria. BioTechniques 10.2144/btn-2023-0023
Avontuur JR, Wilken PM, Palmer M, Coetzee MPA, Stępkowski T, Venter SN, Steenkamp ET. (2023) Complex evolutionary history of photosynthesis in Bradyrhizobium. Microbial Genomics 9(9) 10.1099/mgen.0.001105
Balocchi F, Barnes I, Wingfield MJ, Ahumada R, Visagie CM. (2023) New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae. IMA Fungus 14 10.1186/s43008-023-00122-9 PDF
Claassens R, Venter SN, Beukes CW, Stępkowski T, Chan WY, Steenkamp ET. (2023) Bradyrhizobium xenonodulans sp. nov. isolated from nodules of Australian Acacia species invasive to South Africa. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 10.1016/j.syapm.2023.126452
Johannes Joubert, Benice Sivparsad, Michelle Schroder, Ilaria Germishuizen, Jingyuan Chen, Brett Hurley, Jeremy Allison, Almuth Hammerbacher. (2023) Susceptibility of Eucalyptus trees to defoliation by the Eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus sp. n. 2, is enhanced by high foliar contents of 1,8-cineole, oxalic acid and sucrose and low contents of palmitic and shikimic acid. Plant, Cell & Environment 10.1111/pce.14696 PDF
Pham NQ, Wingfield MJ, Marincowitz S, Tanga AA, Tiki KR, Kassie WB, Hurley BP, Germishuizen I, Lawson SA, Healey MA, Wondafrash M. (2023) First report of the wattle rust pathogen, Uromycladium acaciae (Raveneliaceae, Pucciniales) in Ethiopia. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research :1–8. 10.1093/forestry/cpad040
Swanepoel S, Visser EA, Shuey SS, Naidoo S. (2023) The In Planta Gene Expression of Austropuccinia psidii in Resistant and Susceptible Eucalyptus grandis. Phytopathology 113(6):1066-1076. 10.1094/PHYTO-07-22-0257-R PDF
Paap T, Marincowitz S, Pham NQ, Roets F, Basson RJ, Wingfield BD, Oberlander K, Wingfield MJ. (2023) A novel species of Microsphaeropsis causing cankers on Rafnia amplexicaulis in South Africa. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 12:73-80. 10.3114/fuse.2023.12.05 PDF
Marincowitz S, Pham NQ, Wingfield BD, Roets F, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Microfungi associated with dying Euphorbia mauritanica in South Africa and their relative pathogenicity. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 12:59-71. 10.3114/fuse.2023.12.04 PDF
Kooverjee BB, Soma P, van der Nest MA, Scholtz MM, Neser FWC. (2023) Copy Number Variation Discovery in South African Nguni-Sired and Bonsmara-Sired Crossbred Cattle. Animals 13(15):2513. 10.3390/ani13152513
Makunde PT, Joubert JC, Slippers B, Hurley BP, Hammerbacher A. (2023) Leaf surface traits may influence host specificity in psyllids of Eucalyptus, Spondyliaspis cf. plicatuloides (Froggatt) and Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae). Chemoecology 33:83-98. 10.1007/s00049-023-00387-x
Harris MA, Slippers B, Kemler M, Greve M. (2023) Opportunities for diversified usage of metabarcoding data for fungal biogeography through increased metadata quality. Fungal Biology Reviews 46:100329. 10.1016/j.fbr.2023.100329
Franić I, Allan E, Prospero S, ..., Paap T, et al.. (2023) Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees. Scientific Reports 13:1-13. 10.1038/s41598-023-36795-w
Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Natural infection of white grubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) with entomopathogenic nematodes in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Journal of Helminthology 97 10.1017/S0022149X23000378
Crous P, Pancorbo F, Luangsa-ard J, Larsson E, Esteve-Raventós F, Bishop-Hurley S, Tan Y, Shivas R, Osieck E, Balashov S. (2023) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1478–1549. Persoonia 50:158-310. 10.3767/persoonia.2023.50.05
Crous P, Cowan D, Cruz R, Czachura P, De la Peña-Lastra S, Dovana F, Drury B, Fell J, Flakus A, Fotedar R, Jurjević Å, Chandranayaka S, Boekhout T, Osieck E, Shivas R, Tan Y, Bishop-Hurley S, Esteve-Raventós F, Larsson E, Luangsa-ard J, Pancorbo F, Balashov S, Baseia I, Kolecka A. (2023) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1478–1549 . Persoonia 50:58 – 310. 10.3767/persoonia.2023.50.05
Nkomo T, Hammerbacher A, Wingfield BD, Bose T. (2023) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1478–1549 (Description of Tulasnella epidendrea). Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi 50:290-291. 10.3767/persoonia.2023.50.05
Read DA, Thompson GD, Swanevelder DZH, Pietersen G. (2023) Metaviromic Characterization of Betaflexivirus Populations Associated with a Vitis cultivar Collection in South Africa. Viruses 15(7):1474. 10.3390/v15071474
Li WW, Chen SF, Wingfield MJ, Duong TA. (2023) Calonectria species associated with diseased leaves and soils in southern China Eucalyptus plantations. Phytopathology Research 5(29) 10.1186/s42483-023-00183-z
Roux J, Wingfield MJ, Marincowitz S, Solís M, Phungula S, Pham NQ. (2023) Eucalyptus scab and shoot malformation: a new disease in South Africa caused by a novel species, Elsinoe masingae. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research 10.1093/forestry/cpad031
van der Walt D, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD, Wilken PM. (2023) Evidence of Biparental Mitochondrial Inheritance from Self-Fertile Crosses between Closely Related Species of Ceratocystis. Journal of Fungi 9(6):686. 10.3390/jof9060686 PDF
Barnes I, Abdul Rauf MR, Fourie A, Japarudin Y, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Ceratocystis manginecans and not C. fimbriata a threat to propagated Acacia spp. in Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 35:16-26. 10.26525/jtfs2023.35S.SI.16
Lapammu M, Warburton PM, Japarudin Y, Boden D, Wingfield MJ, Brawner JT. (2023) Verification of tolerance to infection by Ceratocystis manginecans in clones of Acacia mangium. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 35:42-50. 10.26525/jtfs2023.35S.SI.42
Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD, Warburton P, Japarudin Y, Lapammu M, Abdul Rauf MR, Boden D, Barnes I. (2023) Ceratocystis wilt of Acacia mangium in Sabah: Understanding the disease and reducing its impact. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 35:51-66. 10.26525/jtfs2023.35S.SI.51
Chang RL, Wang Y, Liu Y, Wang Y, Li S, Zhao G, Zhang S, Dai M, Zheng X, Bose T, Si H. (2023) Nine new species of black lichenicolous fungi from the genus Cladophialophora (Chaetothyriales) from two different climatic zones of China. Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1191818. 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1191818 PDF
Mesanza N, Barnes I, van der Nest A, Raposo R, Berbegal M, Iturritxa E. (2023) Genetic diversity of Lecanosticta acicola in Pinus ecosystems in Northern Spain. Journal of Fungi 9(651) 10.3390/jof9060651
Francinah M Ratsoma, Nthabiseng Z Mokoena, Brenda D Wingfield, Emma T Steenkamp, Thabiso E Motaung. (2023) Characterization of Fusarium circinatum biofilm and its matrix’s environmental response role. ResearchSquare 00(00):00-00. 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3040583/v1
Bose T, Hammerbacher A, Slippers B, Roux J, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Continuous replanting could degrade soil health in short-rotation plantation forestry. Current Forestry Reports 10.1007/s40725-023-00188-z PDF
Harris MA, Kemler M, Slippers B, Jamison-Daniel S-L, Witfeld F, Botha M, Begerow D, Brachmann A, Greve M. (2023) Deterministic processes have limited impacts on foliar fungal endophyte communities along a savanna-forest successional gradient. Fungal Ecology 64:101249. 10.1016/j.funeco.2023.101249
Macharia TN, Duong TA, Moleleki LN. (2023) n silico secretome analyses of the polyphagous root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica: a resource for studying M. javanica secreted proteins. BMC Genomics 24:296. 10.1186/s12864-023-09366-6
Migliorini D, Vivas M, Wingfield MJ, Shaw C, Burgess TI. (2023) Oomycete composition in Proteaceae orchards and natural stands on three continents. Research Square 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2964044/v1
Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Mechanisms behind differential white grub host susceptibility to entomopathogenic nematodes. Nematology 10.1163/15685411-bja10253
Suzuki H, Marincowitz S, Rodas CA, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2023) First report of two Chrysoporthe species, Chrysoporthe doradensis and Chrysoporthe colombiana sp. nov. from Henriettea seemannii pathogenic to Eucalyptus in Colombia. Mycological Progress 22(44) 10.1007/s11557-023-01891-8
Si H, Su Y, Wang Y, Bose T, Chang RL. (2023) The effects of co‑culture on the expression of selected PKS genes in the lichenized fungus Xanthoparmelia taractica. Mycological Progress 22:41. 10.1007/s11557-023-01894-5
Hough B, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield B, Read DA. (2023) Fungal viruses unveiled: A comprehensive review of Mycoviruses. Viruses 15(5):1202. 10.3390/v15051202 PDF