I am an Honours student in Genetics working within the Kiwifruit Protection Programme (KPP), where my research focuses on understanding the population biology of a newly emerging fungal pathogen, Pseudocercospora, affecting kiwifruit production in South Africa. This pathogen has caused significant fruit spot and rot disease in Actinidia chinensis, posing a major threat to the local agricultural industry. My work aims to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure, and mating type distribution of this pathogen using microsatellite markers and molecular techniques.