I am an MSc student under the supervision of Prof. Tuan Duong (UP-FABI) and Dr. Juanita Engelbrecht (ARC), working on the identification of powdery mildew pathogens infecting vegetable and hemp crops in South Africa. This disease remains understudied locally due to its obligate biotrophic nature, which makes it difficult to isolate and work with. My research aims to address this gap by surveying affected farms and identifying the causal agents, with a particular focus on Erysiphe species on vegetables and Golovinomyces on hemp.