Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
12 May 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Wilku Meyer is the co-recipient of the Junior Captain Scott Memorial Medal for Plant Sciences, awarded every second year by the South African Academy for Science and Arts for the best MSc dissertation awarded at a South African university.
In 2016, sunflower rust was very prominent, causing trouble in the agricultural industry. With the latest information on this topic published as far back as the 1990s, Wilku Meyer, PhD Botany student at the University of the Free State (UFS), saw the gap in research and decided to make sunflower rust the focus of his master’s dissertation. 

“After seeing the work researchers are doing in the Department of Plant Sciences at the UFS and how it can be applied, it was reassuring to know that the work you are doing can, in addition to broadening your own horizons, also help other people,” says Meyer. 

Not only will his research one day possibly make a positive difference in the agriculture sector, but he has also received acknowledgement for this work from the prestigious body, the South African Academy for Science and Arts. 

Best MSc dissertation in Plant Sciences

With his dissertation: ‘Phenotypic and genotypic variation of Puccinia helianthi in South Africa’, Meyer is the co-recipient of the Junior Captain Scott Memorial Medal for Plant Sciences, awarded every second year by the South African Academy for Science and Arts for the best MSc dissertation awarded at a South African university. Ruan van der Nest from the Stellenbosch University Department of Agronomy shared the award with him. 

The focus of his dissertation was to see how many different races of the Puccinia helianthi fungus are responsible for sunflower rust. He explains: “I followed two approaches to this, namely the phenotypic approach whereby specific sunflower lines are infected with spores of different Puccinia helianthi isolates collected from sunflower fields in South Africa. With the second approach, the genotypic approach, I looked at the DNA of collected rust samples and compared them with each other.” 

In the end, he was able to identify six races in total that were spread across four main genetic groups.

Meyer did not settle for subpar results and kept going, no matter how much work it was, or the time required. He put all his time and effort into this study. He believes that the guidance of his supervisors and the support of his family and friends also helped with this big achievement.

Hard-working, dependable, and mature researcher

Prof Botma Visser (Botany), one of Meyer’s supervisors during his master’s study, describes him as hard-working, dependable, and a mature researcher. According to Prof Visser, the one attribute that will benefit him with his PhD, is his computer skills, especially in the field of Bioinformatics. “This is becoming an important skill set for postgraduate students, whereby huge datasets generated with the newest DNA sequencing technologies are analysed to provide next-generation results and understanding the interactions between a plant and a pathogen.” 

“Finally, and maybe his best quality, is that he really loves what he is currently doing – from the practical hands-on work in the greenhouse, to the laboratory and computer-based molecular analyses of the plant pathogen,” adds Prof Visser. 

Meyer, in response to the award from the South African Academy for Science and Arts, says it is an honour. “I'm very grateful that all the time and effort is being recognised. It is a confirmation that I'm doing what I should be doing.”

He started his PhD study this year (2021), again under the supervision of Prof Botma Visser and Prof Willem Boshoff (Plant Pathology). 

News Archive

Launch of the Africa office of the IIDE
2006-05-25

Attending the launch of the Africa office of the IIDE were from the left Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS) and Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS).

 

Attending the launch were from the left Prof Lucius Botes (Director: Centre of Development Support at the UFS), Dr Samuel Kareithi (Head: Community Development at the Cornerstone Christian College, Cape Town), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS), Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe) and Dr Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector:  Student Affairs at the UFS).

Africa office of IIDE launched on UFS main campus 

The Africa office of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) was today (26 May 2006) launched on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“The IIDE specialises in the studying and research of general questions of developmental theory and practices and provides services and support in education, strategic planning, policy formulation, advocacy and capacity building of development agencies,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS.

According to Rev Jaftha the IIDE in Africa will focus on the conceptual and normative aspects of developmental processes in Sub-Saharan Africa.  “We want to foster local and international partnerships with various relevant role-players in civil society, the private sector and public sector in the SACD region and later expand our operations to the rest of Africa,” said Rev Jaftha.

The IIDE in Africa cooperates with a similar foundation in Europe, functioning as the IIDE Europe.  This institute was founded in 2003 and its head office is situated in the Netherlands.  The UFS is a funder of the IIDE in Africa together with the Paul Foundation and private sponsors from the Netherlands.

“We have already started with various projects which are in various stages of implementation,” said Rev Jaftha.  Some of these projects include, among others, the broadening of the master’s degree in Christian Studies of Science and Society (MACSSS) which is currently housed at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to tertiary institutions in South Africa such as the UFS, the University of Stellenbosch and the Potchefstroom Campus of the Northwest University.

“Another project is an investigation into the possibility of initiating a broad development initiative in the poverty stricken Qwaqwa area.  This initiative will attempt to concentrate on issues like the training and empowerment of prospective entrepreneurs in the region, the identification of prospective entrepreneurs for the rendering of development support and the monitoring of the impact of information and communication technology on local communities during the implementation of sustainable development initiatives,” said Rev Jaftha.

“The establishment of the Africa office of the IIDE on the UFS Main Campus is an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa.  It also signifies our aim to contribute meaningfully to research and development and to establish links between the academe and practice,” said Rev Jaftha. 

 

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
26 May 2006

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept