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06 December 2018 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Barend Nagel
Marcelle Vermeulen
Marcele Vermeulen, a graduate from the Department of Plant Sciences, explores possible threats to crop production; contributing to food security in South Africa.

Global food security is currently threatened both by climate change and the low diversity of crops relied on by humankind to feed a growing world population. Marcele Vermeulen, a graduate in the Department of Plant Sciences who will receive her PhD at the December graduation ceremonies at the University of the Free State (UFS), is part of a team that is working hard to add to the diversity of staple foods in South Africa.

In the drive to focus on alternative crops, Marcele is researching the crop, Amaranthus cruentus, (grain amaranth). It is more tolerant to environmental stress for large-scale production, thereby also diversifying staple crops.

Relatively new development

“Amaranthus cruentus is an excellent candidate due to its high nutritional value and tolerance to drought and high temperatures. It can be mixed with conventional maize meal, to increase the protein intake of its consumers,” said Marcele.

The production of A. cruentus as a grain crop in South Africa is a relatively new development.

In her research, exploring the possible threats to crop production and paying particular attention to dominant plant pathogens in the Amaranthus cruentus, Marcele found a correlation between fungal pathogens and insect pests. 

Insect pests can influence plant diseases

Although reports on fungal pathogens and pests specific to A. cruentus are limited to and information for South Africa is limited to this study, there is a possibility that by controlling insect pests such as weevils, one might also be able to control fungal pathogens of Amaranthus cruentus.

Marcele believes that control of weevil pests should thus be the focus of future pest and pathogen management strategies and breeding programmes in A. cruentus.  

“Knowledge gained in my thesis will hopefully aid in the development of future cultivation practices, integrated pest/pathogen management programmes, as well as for the registration of crop protection products for A. cruentus,” Marcele added.

Research Contributes to Food Security from University of the Free State on Vimeo.

News Archive

Old Mutual Investment Group invests in our students
2013-07-22

 

Old Mutual Investment Group’s Imfundo Trust scholars with Mr Muhammad Brey (far left) and Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS (far right).
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
22 July 2013

“I am one step closer to entering the corporate world as a young woman. My dream is to work for a large firm and now it is possible,” said Melody Motaung, a B Accounting first-year student. She is one of the first recipients of the Old Mutual Investment Group’s Imfundo Trust scholarship, which was launched at the university recently.

Melody is one of seven Kovsies and 91 students countrywide to benefit from the R20 million trust, aimed at empowering black professional people in the financial sector. Kovsies is now one of eight universities whose students benefit from the trust. It already empowers students from the University of Johannesburg, UNISA, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, University of the Western Cape, University of Fort Hare, Stellenbosch University and Rhodes University.

”The UFS embodies the excellence and innovation we are looking for in tertiary institutions,“ Mr Muhammad Brey, trustee of the trust, said during the launch. He conveyed that the main aim of the trust is to address the shortage of black professional investors in South Africa and to expand the source of suitably qualified individuals in the asset management industry.

The seven recipients, all of them female first-year students, were encouraged by the speakers to do their part in addressing South Africa’s skills shortage in the financial sector.

Prof Hendri Kroukamp, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, said with the assistance of the Old Mutual Investment Group, the students – four of them B Accounting students – will help to address the shortage of chartered accountants in the country. “As qualified financial experts, they can make a big contribution.”

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