The Eucalyptus Pine Pathogen Interactions (EPPI) team is undertaking an ongoing large-scale study involving greenhouse trials running since 2020 and field trials running since early 2023. The study aims to identify DNA markers associated with resistance against the fungal canker pathogen, Chrysoporthe austroafricana and to understand the underlying resistance mechanisms. The first filed trial involving the inoculation, tissue sampling, and phenotyping of 4040 ramets of 202 Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla backcross to E. grandis clones, produced and planted at the Kwambonambi site in KwaZulu-Natal by SAPPI-South Africa, has been conducted from February to May 2023. The current field experiment involves 6060 ramets of the same set of 202 clones planted at the Richmond site of SAPPI-South Africa in KwaZulu-Natal. Of these, 4040 trees were inoculated with C. austroafricana from 22-26 October 2023. Then, stem samples were collected from 1212 inoculated trees for transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses from 30 October to 1 November 2023. The remaining 2828 inoculated trees will be used for phenotyping which will be done in January-February 2024. Joining these field trips were University of Pretoria staff and students Prof. Sanushka Naidoo, Dr Erik Visser, Dr Avhashoni Zwane, Demissew Teshome, Shae Swanepoel, Sean Schultze, Tebogo Molemela, Tshoganyetso Motete, Luke Kim, Ryan Bosch, Bertus van Rooy, Anicka Nel, Michal Slupski, Mpho Mudau, Wendy Zulu, Myriam Solis, and Lina Del Mar Angel, as well as SAPPI staff Dr Nicky Jones, Siyabonga Dube, and Siphephelo Phungula.