FABI celebrated the successful completion of the PhD of one of its most recognisable and passionate students, Darryl Herron. He presented his Prestige Seminar “Fusarium diversity associated with Poaceae in the Pinus nursery and plantation environment” on 26 August. FABI Director, Prof. Bernard Slippers described Darryl as a person who has given back to FABI so much more than he received.

During his time at FABI that included both his MSc and PhD degrees, Darryl won numerous awards including the coveted FABIan of the Year (2015), various Mentorship Awards, the award for the Best Personal Website, and one linked to Getting the Message to the Public. His passion for communicating science earned him a runner-up placing in #FAMEclub short science communication presentation series (2017). He received the Best Paper Prize at the 48^th Meeting of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) in 2013 and was also awarded the SASPP John and Petakin Mildenhall Award in 2017. This award is made to a PhD student who has shown academic excellence and potential in the field of plant pathology.

During his many years in FABI, Darryl had many roles other than being a student. These included  serving as head of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) Disease Clinic after previously working as the Clinic’s field extension officer. Darryl became well-known for his enthusiastic participation in many FABI activities including attending and winning awards in the annual meetings of the Society for the Presentation of Outrageous Findings (SPOOF). In his acknowledgements after his formal presentation, Darryl shared many photographic memories of his time in FABI including those of his many friends and colleagues participating in  a broad range of FABI activities.

At the start of the proceedings, Prof. Emma Steenkamp recounted how she had first met Darryl as a second year student. She remarked on  how he had grown up both as a person and a passionate scientist, passing his MSc Cum laude.  She also made mention of the fact that  and one of the papers from this degree has already been cited over 100 times.

Darryl completed his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Emma Steenkamp, Prof. Brenda Wingfield, Prof. Mike Wingfield, and Dr Neriman Yilmaz. The external examiners for his thesis were Prof. Mónica Berbegal (Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain) and Prof. Maríadel Mar Jiménez Gasco (Pennsylvania State University, USA) while Prof. Irene Barnes was the internal examiner. 

His PhD research considered the globally pine pitch canker pathogen, its association with grasses as potential reservoirs of inoculum, the variation in its aggressiveness on pine, and the broader diversity of Fusariumspecies in commercial forestry systems. Broadly, these findings enhance our understanding of F. circinatum'sepidemiology, emphasizing the biosecurity risks posed by cryptic alternative hosts, such as grasses, and the diverse range of F. circinatum strains with varying aggressiveness.