FABI hosted a visit by two collaborators, Prof. Piotr Boroń of the University of Agriculture in Krakow, Poland, and his PhD student Klaudia Bulanda, who recently visited FABI as part of a collaborative research effort on pine needle diseases. Klaudia spent six weeks at FABI working in Prof. Irene Barnes’ group with MSc student, Michané Reutener, studying diseases of Eucalyptus as part of an internship implemented within the project “Raising qualifications and competences of teaching staff and doctoral students in order to enhance the quality of teaching at the University of Agriculture in Krakow”, funded by the European Union as part of the European Funds for Social Development programme. She also attended microsatellite data analysis workshops presented by Postdoc researchers Dr Ariska van der Nest and Dr Firehiwot Eshetu.

Prof. Boroń presented a special seminar at the FABI Monday Morning Meeting on 6 October entitled: "A short subjective list of interesting forest pathology problems in central Europe". This talk shed light on the severe impact of European Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) on plantation forestry in Poland and demonstrated how climate change exacerbates its impact and facilitates its spread.

Prof. Irene Barnes and Prof. Boroń spent time studying diseased pine needle samples brought from Poland using the state-of-the-art Keyence VHX-7000 Series digital microscope, which FABI acquired in 2024. Using this microscope allowed unprecedented levels of surface detail to be seen with minimal preparation time.

The visit concluded with a quick trip to the Pilanesberg National Park to showcase the splendours of the South African wildlife.