In June, Dr Wilma Nel, manager of the TPCP Diagnostic Clinic, visited the University of Florida Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) to attend the MICROBENet^Net workshop and to participate in a diagnostic knowledge exchange.

The MICROBENet^Net workshop, part of an NSF AccelNet initiative, promotes international, interdisciplinary collaboration on plant–microbe interactions. Held at TREC in Homestead, Florida from 8-11 June, the workshop brought together emerging researchers from six countries working on bark and ambrosia beetle research. Participants focused on developing reliable, curated reference databases for metabarcoding studies to identify Ophiostomatales and Microascales fungi associated with these insects, enabling faster and more accurate identifications.

The following week (15-19 June), Dr Nel worked with the University of Florida Plant Diagnostic Clinic at TREC, hosted by clinic director Dr Romina Gazis. The visit featured an exchange of diagnostic methods used by the TPCP and TREC teams to improve speed and accuracy in pathogen diagnostics. Dr Nel also joined field investigations of laurel wilt - an ambrosia beetle-vectored disease of Lauraceae - a potential future threat to South Africa’s avocado industry.