FABI Phytosanitation and Biosecurity interns attend a phytosanitary course
Interns in the Phytosanitation and Biosecurity internship programme in FABI had the privilege to attend a two-day introductory phytosanitary course recently.
25 Oct 2021
21 Oct 2021
FABIans and Engineers collaborate on digitization of agriculture presentation
Two FABIans teamed up with two engineers to present a talk at the 2021 IEEE 4th 5G World Forum.
20 Oct 2021
FABI researchers investigate photosynthesis in the Namib
Professor Tjaart Krüger and Dr Michal Gwizdala travelled to the Namib Desert to explore the molecular mechanisms responsible for sustaining photosynthesis in hypolithons in extreme environments.
19 Oct 2021
Cobus Visagie presents at DGFM Centennial symposium
Celebrating their 100th year of existence, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Mykologie (DGfM) held their conference from 6-10 October in Blaubeuren, Germany.
18 Oct 2021
Mad Mac Flower blight fieldtrip
During the week of 5 October, the Macadamia Protection Programme was in Mpumalanga for an on-going flower blight survey.
15 Oct 2021
Lesotho agricultural research delegation visits FABI
FABI hosted a visit by a delegation from the Lesotho Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) on 11 October.
14 Oct 2021
ARP hosts its annual Research Day
The Hans Merensky Chair in Avocado Research, hosted its annual Student Research Day as a hybrid meeting on 5 October.
13 Oct 2021
FABIans attend the NSSA Symposium
Professor Brett Hurley and PhD candidate Agil Katumanyane attended the 23rd Symposium of the Nematological Society of Southern Africa (NSSA).
12 Oct 2021
Nicky Creux co-organises International Sunflower Association (ISA) webconference
Dr Nicky Creux, programme leader of the Crop Floral Biology and Environments research group in FABI was a co-organiser ( of the International Sunflower Association (ISA) webconference on sunflower-pollinator interactions.
12 Oct 2021
Quentin Guignard interviewed on SAFM
Dr Quentin Guignard participated in a live radio interview on SAFM recently where host Stephen Grootes spoke to him about his research work conducted as part of his PhD research.
8 Oct 2021
FABI participates in the third seed packing project for the National Maize Cultivar Evaluation Trials
A team of 36 FABI TPCP/CPHB students and interns took to task packing a large number of maize seed cultivars from the 20-22 September 2021.
8 Oct 2021
Discover FABI’s art collection
FABIans and visitors to the Institute now have the biographical information about the artists whose artwork adorns the walls in FABI available at their fingertips.
7 Oct 2021
Translating plant health information into South African languages
On 5 October, FABIans lent their voices to be heard towards the accomplishment of a mission to talk to smallholder grain farmers in South Africa in their own languages
7 Oct 2021
More than 500 Eucalyptus trees harvested for future studies in FABI
From 13-15 September, a group of FABIans visited SAPPI plantations in the Richards Bay area to collect leaf material from more than 500 Eucalyptus grandis trees.
6 Oct 2021
FABI celebrates World Fungi Day
On Saturday 2 October a group of FABIans joined Prof. Mike Wingfield in celebrating World Fungi Day.
5 Oct 2021
Sclerotinia stem rot of soybean research featured in the FABI International Seminar Series
Dr Damon L. Smith of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) was the guest presenter at the September FABI International Seminar Series on 30 September.
5 Oct 2021
FABI and SAPPI partner for Phytophthora trials
A group of TPCP researchers inoculated 19 families of Eucalyptus benthamii with Phytophthora alticola as part of an infection trial in partnership with Sappi.
4 Oct 2021
FABI shines at the Spring graduation
The University of Pretoria conferred 20 postgraduate degrees – 13 PhD degrees and seven MSc degrees – to FABIans during the Spring graduation ceremony.
4 Oct 2021
Zander Myburg and co-workers awarded US-DOE grant to decipher woody biomass production and environmental interactions of eucalypt trees
Professor Zander Myburg, Director of the FMG Programme in FABI will lead an international team of researchers in a US-DOE funded project for large-scale genome sequencing to decipher woody biomass production and environmental interactions of eucalypt trees.
4 Oct 2021
Remembering Neville Denison (1936-2021)
Reflections of Prof. Mike Wingfield, Founding Director of the TPCP and FABI on the passing of Neville Denison.
30 Sep 2021
Twelfth Online meeting of the bark beetle mycobiome International Research Coordination Network
On Wednesday 29 September, the Bark Beetle Mycobiome International Research Coordination Network held their 12th online meeting.
28 Sep 2021
Diversifying the biological control of Gonipterus sp. 2 in South Africa
Recent surveys have revealed several species of egg and larval parasitoids to occur in the native range of the Gonipterus scutellatus species complex.
20 Sep 2021
Cobus Visage a winner in the Zeiss Microscopy Image Contest 2021
Congratulations to Prof. The winning entries can be viewed here.
17 Sep 2021
FABI has its first drone pilots
ITwo FABIans have recently completed a Remote Piloted Aircraft pilot course and license accredited by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.
16 Sep 2021
FABI well represented at the ISCE conference 2021
From 5-10 September, academic staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students from FABI attended the 36th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE).
14 Sep 2021
GRP Disease Diagnostic and Extension service ready for new season after their visit to Cropwatch
During the week of 6-8 September, members of the Grain Research programme (GRP) travelled to Komatipoort to visit research partners, Cropwatch Africa.
13 Sep 2021
FABI team returns to the Cederberg for sampling
Members of the FABI met up with colleagues from Stellenbosch University to sample declining trees in the Cederberg mountains.
9 Sep 2021
SASSB webinar explores a continental floristic riddle
The September webinar of the Southern African Society for Systematic Biology on 2 September had as guest speaker Dr Isabel Sanmartin, a senior scientist at the Royal Botanical Garden, CSIC in Madrid, Spain.
3 Sep 2021
FABIan sets sail for science
A PhD candidate in FABI, Francinah Rankoma is one of four students from the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Pretoria to be selected to embark on a 36 day voyage onboard the research vessel SA Agulhas to collect samples and conduct experiments in the south Atlantic ocean.
2 Sep 2021
The problem of CAM in India highlighted at the August FABI International Seminar
This month’s FABI International Seminar on 26 August moved into the medical mycology sphere casting the spotlight on the devastating impact that COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) is having on the Indian population.
1 Sep 2021
FABI PostDoc Student wins Inqaba's ‘Africa Genome Challenge 2021’ Award
Dr Neriman Yilmaz was a category winner in Inqaba Biotec's ‘Africa Genome Challenge 2021’ competition to promote a new sequencing platform available to their clients.
31 Aug 2021
SANBI’s Sentinel Plant Project renders training support for horticulture students at DUT
Recently, FABI had established a collaboration partnership with the Department of Horticulture at Durban University of Technology (DUT) to train students through the SANBI Sentinel Plant Project.
26 Aug 2021
Bagworms from wattle and pine emperor larvae from… Eucalyptus!
Three FABIans set out to collect pupae of the wattle bagworm (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) and larvae of the pine emperor moth (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) near Greytown.
25 Aug 2021
Scouting for native natural enemies of PSHB
A team from FABI visited various sites in the greater Durban area to scout for native natural enemies of the PSHB that can be used in a biological control programme
25 Aug 2021
FABI says farewell to Arista
n Friday 13 August, members of the Macadamia Protection Programme along with other FABIans gathered to say farewell to Dr Arista Fourie.
23 Aug 2021
The Solanaceae family unpacked at the August SASSB webinar
‘Solanaceae - more than potatoes and tomatoes!’ was the topic of the plenary speaker Dr Sandra Knapp of the Natural History Museum in London at the August Southern African Society for Systematic Biology (SASSB) webinar.