Dr Nicky Creux, programme leader of the Crop Floral Biology and Environments research group in FABI was a co-organiser (along with Prof. Nicolas Langlade (INRAe) and Olivier Catrice (INRAe)) of the International Sunflower Association (ISA) webconference on sunflower-pollinator interactions hosted on 6-7 October. The conference was live streamed in the FABI boardroom where six members of the Sunflower research team attended and presented together. This helped to provide students, who have completed most of their degrees under various levels of lockdown, to have at least a ‘partially normal’ conference experience. Three FABIans:- Dr Nicky Creux, and MSc students Uya Memela and Xavier Brits, presented their research work and got to practice presenting in a hybrid format, which may very well become a more common conference format post-pandemic. It was wonderful to have even this small (six person) audience. 

Presentations by FABIans:

Dr Nicky Creux: Sunflower Anthesis: The delicate balancing act of climate control. 

Uya Memela: The physiological effects of heat stress on anthesis and pollination in domesticated sunflowers. 

Xavier Brits: Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) as pollinators of sunflowers in the Waterberg region area of Limpopo province, South Africa.