Projects in Plant Pathology

• The development of an integrated soil and plant health strategy with specific reference to biotic and abiotic interactions in the rhizosphere that influence yield and disease resistance/suppression (Prof WJ Swart).
• Prospecting for plant growth promoting fungi and bacteria in the rhizosphere microbiome of maize and wheat for the development of biofertilizers and biopesticides (Prof WJ Swart).
• Fungi associated with the seed and roots of various pseudocereals such as amaranth, quinoa, and fonio (Prof WJ Swart).
• Seed- and soilborne borne diseases of cowpea (Prof WJ Swart).
• Plant root exudates and their role in determining soil and plant health (Prof WJ Swart).
• The rhizosphere microbiome of soybean following the application of salicylic acid and it’s relevance to plant health (Prof WJ Swart).
• Integrated management of sorghum diseases (Prof N McLaren; Lisa Rothmann).
• Study of inoculation and disease evaluation techniques for sclerotinia stalk rot of soybean (Prof N McLaren; Lisa Rothmann; Marlese Meiring).
• Sorghum foliar diseases and grain mold: A systems analysis approach (Mrs. L Rothmann; Prof NW McLaren)
• Sclerotinia sclerotiorum disease potential and management responses in soybean and sunflower (Mrs. L Rothmann; Prof NW McLaren; Dr. Derick van Staden)
• Characterisation of variability in cereal rust pathogens (Dr W Boshoff; Prof ZA Pretorius).
• Assessment of rust resistance in South African wheat cultivars (Dr WHP Boshoff, Mrs. CM Bender).
• Characterisation of diverse germplasm sources for rust resistance (Dr W Boshoff; Prof ZA Pretorius).
• Marker-assisted selection for rust resistance in wheat (Dr WHP Boshoff; Prof L Herselman; Dr A Marè; Prof ZA Pretorius).
• Situational analysis of Penicillium species associated with the maize milling process in South Africa (Dr GJ Marais; Dr M Gryzenhout).
• Botryosphaeriaceae associated with pecans, with special reference to Neofusicoccum spp. (Dr GJ Marais; Prof B Slippers (UP)).
• The use of essential oils to control soil borne pathogens in maize (Dr GJ Marais; Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn).
• Members of Cladosporium cladosporioides complex as the causative agents of pecan scab in South Africa (Dr GJ Marais; Prof WJ Swart).
• Basidiomycetous fungi associated with pecan orchards in South Africa (Dr GJ Marais; Dr M Gryzenhout).
• Fusarium species associated with pecans in South Africa (Dr GJ Marais; Dr M Gryzenhout).
• Population study on the distribution of Cladosporium species in pecans (Dr GJ Marais; Dr M Gryzenhout).
• Ophiostomatoid fungi associated with pecans in South Africa (Dr GJ Marais; Dr M Gryzenhout).
• The impact of the Polyphagous shot hole borer and its symbiotic fungi on pecan nut trees in South Africa (Prof Wilhelm de Beer (UP); Dr GJ Marais).
• Diversity and distribution of Alternaria species associated with pecans in South Africa (Dr GJ Marais; Dr M Gryzenhout).
• Plant pathogenic risks associated with pecans in South Africa (SAPPA Project Leader: Dr GJ Marais).
• Production of plant growth enhancing metabolites from Trichoderma (Dr GJ Marais).