Ever wondered how seedless fruit such as lemons, watermelons, and grapes came to be?
Dr Angeline van Biljon, Senior Lecturer in the
Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), was recently elected as a member of the Southern African Plant Breeders’ Association (SAPBA) executive committee where she will serve until March 2022.
She says it is a privilege to be a member of the team. “It is an opportunity to bring plant breeding to the community so that more people can know about the subject. For example, that seedless lemons, grapes, and watermelons does not just happen; that orange sweet potatoes with high beta-carotene are bred to combat vitamin A deficiency; and that wheat quality is important to make a good loaf of bread.”
This position also brings with it the possibility for her students to work closely with people in industry. “Other members of the committee are breeders in seed and breeding companies,” explains Dr Van Biljon.
Contributing on other platforms
She was nominated and elected for this position during the SAPBA conference that was held at the Future Africa campus in Pretoria. Besides serving on the executive committee of SAPBA, she is involved with and are serving on several other platforms where she is making a difference in the plant breeding industry.
The difference plant breeding can make
Although genetics was one of her passions as student, she later found herself as a flower breeder at the ARC Roodeplaat. Years later, she returned to the UFS to complete her PhD in Plant Breeding. And today, she wants to help students see the difference plant breeding can make in crop improvement and food security.
Currently, Dr Van Biljon is focusing on her research, which is the study of the nutritional value of various crops by determining, among others, the beta-carotene values of butternuts, the starch quality of wheat, and the tryptophan value of quality protein maize. “I also look at the influence of abiotic stress on the crop quality and nutritional value of various crops,” she adds.