Professor Romina Gaziz from the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Centre (TREC) recently visited FABI to attend and participate in the 36^th Annual Meeting of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP).  As Director of TREC’s plant disease clinic, Romina was able to share her experiences in dealing with disease diagnostics, especially relating to fruit tree crops. She also discussed her research on laurel wilt, a devasting forest tree disease where the pathogen has now moved to and is threatening avocado production in the United States.  During her stay, she joined Profs Mike Wingfield, Brenda Wingfield and Irene Barnes on a field visit to meet and share knowledge with colleagues at Merensky Timber and Westfalia Fruit in the Tzaneen area as well as Sappi in Nelspruit.