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The impact of cereal killers on food security

25 March 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Charl Devenish

Prof Liezel Herselman Inuagural Lecture — At the inaugural lecture were from the left: Prof Danie Vermeulen, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Liezel Herselman, Dr Adré Minnaar-Ontong, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences and Subject Head of Plant Breeding, and Dr Molapo Qhobela, Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact.

Prof Liezel Herselman, Academic Head of the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS),) delivered her inaugural lecture on the Bloemfontein Campus this week (24 March 2022). The theme of the lecture was the ongoing battle against destructive cereal killers.

With 28 years of extensive experience as a researcher, her work focuses on marker-assisted disease resistance breeding in wheat within a South African context. When she joined the UFS in 2004, Prof Herselman decided to apply her research expertise in marker-assisted breeding to the problems faced by wheat producers in the Free State and Northern Cape. The Free State is one of the major dryland wheat production areas in South Africa, while irrigation wheat is produced along the major rivers in the Northern Cape.

Protection against fungal diseases

Concentrating specifically on Fusarium head blight (or wheat scab) and three rust diseases – leaf rust, stem rust, and stripe rust – she has done work to provide wheat plants with ‘tools’ to protect themselves against these fungal diseases.

According to Prof Herselman, there are many genes available in different wheat genotypes and related grass species that provide excellent protection against various races of these diseases. “Some of these genes provide protection or resistance from the seedling stage, while others provide resistance at the adult plant stage. We are thus aiming to combine as many of these genes as possible into a single wheat cultivar, without compromising yield and bread-making quality.”

She says the genes are combined by making crosses between resistant and susceptible cultivars or lines. Conventionally, through a time-consuming process, the incorporation of these genes is tested in the greenhouse and field by infecting plants with the disease to see which plants are resistant and which are not.

They can, however, follow the transfer of these genes to newly developed lines by applying molecular markers. Prof Herselman explains: “A molecular marker is a genomic fragment linked to the gene, which we can follow in the offspring we create from the crosses using different DNA techniques in the laboratory. This enables us to select new wheat lines that contain the highest number of resistance genes. The identified best lines are then used in further crosses and/or released as pre-breeding lines to commercial wheat breeding companies.”

Impact on food security

Her research has an impact on society by providing food security to both commercial and small-scale producers, as well as the end users of wheat (people buying bread and other wheat products). As researcher, it is also important for her to send out students to the workplace who can continue with this task in future.

Prof Herselman believes that when cultivars with fungal-disease tolerance or resistance are released and used by producers, it not only reduces the cost of spraying against diseases, but also increases yields by protecting the crop against fungal diseases. “We live in a world where the population is increasing daily, but land available for agriculture is not increasing and some areas are even lost due to urban development. Increasing yield in available production areas will thus have a positive impact on food security,” she says.

Besides contributing to the country’s food security, she takes pleasure in every aspect of her work. Although she misses the hands-on part of the work as academic head of the department and getting her hands dirty, she still enjoys managing the different research projects (from the conceptualisation phase to data analysis and publishing of results). The part she loves the most is to see the growth in her postgraduate students – from the moment they enter the laboratory for the first time until the day they walk out of the laboratory with their degrees.

“It adds purpose to my life knowing that I have made a difference in a student’s life and equipped him or her with the necessary tools to be successful in the marketplace. Being able to share your knowledge is a gift, but with that gift comes a lot of responsibility as well. I am, however, up for the challenge,” concludes Prof Herselman.

News Archive

King Moshoeshoe comes alive on national television

2004-11-02

Honourable Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili, Prime Minister of Lesotho, and his wife; King Letsie III of Lesotho and Dr Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: Student Affairs at the UFS during the première of the film at the Royal Palace in Lesotho

The ground-breaking documentary film on the life and legacy of King Moshoeshoe, the founder of the Basotho nation, will come alive on Thursday 4 November 2004 when it is screened on SABC2 at 21:00

The film, called Moshoeshoe: The Renaissance King, forms part of a larger project by the University of the Free State (UFS) to honour the Moshoeshoe legacy of nation-building and reconciliation and to explore his role as a model of African leadership. It was produced by the well-known journalist Mr Max du Preez and commissioned by the UFS as part of its centenary celebrations.

The SABC2 screening was preceded by a première in Bloemfontein last month, and was attended by provincial political leaders.

This past weekend there was a première at the Royal Palace in Lesotho, which was attended by King Letsie III, the prime minister, the chief justice, judges, the president of the senate, cabinet ministers and directors-general.

“Through this documentary film the UFS commits itself to developing a shared appreciation of the history of this country and to the establishment of the Free State Province as a model of reconciliation and nation-building. King Moshoeshoe is also a strong common element, and binding factor, in the relationship between South Africa/the Free State, and its neighbour, Lesotho,” said Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

“Not all people in South Africa know the history of Moshoeshoe. Many Basotho – but not all – are well versed in the history of Moshoeshoe, and his name is honoured in many a street, town and township. Many white people know little of him, or have a very constrained or even biased view of his role and legacy. In Africa and the world, he is much less known than, for instance, Shaka,” said Prof Fourie.

“King Moshoeshoe did a remarkable thing in forging a new nation out of a fragmented society. He also created a remarkable spirit of reconciliation and a remarkable spirit of leadership,” said Prof Fourie.

According to Prof Fourie we already benefit from his legacy: the people of the Free State share a tradition of moderation and reconciliation rather than one of aggression and domination. “For the UFS this is also part of real transformation – of creating a new unity amidst our diversity,” said Prof Fourie.

“We also find in the legacy of King Moshoeshoe the possibility of a “founding philosophy”, or “defining philosophy”, for the African renaissance. To develop this philosophy, we must gain a deeper understanding of what really happened there, of his role, of his leadership. Therefore the UFS will encourage and support further research into the history, politics and sociology of the Moshoeshoe period, including his leadership style,” said Prof Fourie.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
2 November 2004

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