An international panel of scientists that included a researcher from Stellenbosch University (SU), have identified a list of “100 of the most important questions facing plant science”. This international initiative has determined key research priorities and highlights the importance of diversity, collaboration, and funding for plant research to tackle climate change, the biodiversity crisis and sustainable food production.

These 100 questions are published today (16 March 2023) in A Viewpoint in New Phytologist.

An original list was published more than a decade ago and included questions such as What are the key research priorities that will help tackle the global challenges of climate change, the biodiversity crises and feed a growing population in a sustainable way?

Now, ten years after these priorities were first debated and summarised by a panel of scientists and published in New Phytologist, the panel reflects on the changes to plant science and the progress made to address these research areas, published today as a Letter in New 0Phytologist.

To re-evaluate research priorities, a new panel of 20 plant scientists from 15 nations was formed in 2022 to provide an international perspective on the important areas for plant science research. Led by Prof. Claire Grierson from the University of Bristol in the UK, the scientists gathered over 600 questions about plant science from botanically curious members of the public to scientific and industrial leaders around the world. They then identified 100 of the most important questions facing plant science this project.

These 100 questions highlight how climate change, biodiversity loss, and interdisciplinary and international collaborations are critical global priorities across diverse plant science research fields. The study* demonstrates how critically important plant scientists believe the fight against climate change is, highlights global disparities in science funding and showcases a diverse range of important future research topics. This study also showed how a global community of plant scientists, with a wide range of expertise, view the strategic priorities for plant research and offers insight into how different areas of research are important to different global regions. The research emphasises how an international exercise can be used to identify diverse research questions.

Prof. Claire Grierson said: “These two papers form a unique and valuable resource for researchers and newcomers to plant science, including collaborators on interdisciplinary projects, students and early career researchers, and for policy development”.

Dr Ida Wilson from the Department of Agronomy at SU, South Africa, said: “My work is solution driven and needs to directly address the challenges that farmers in South Africa and Africa face. As part of the Africa panel, I am also very proud of the African inputs, and grateful for the opportunity to have our voices heard. I mentor young scientists too, and the excitement the publication has generated is tangible”.

Another panellist, Dr Shyam Phartyal from Nalanda University in India, said, “One of the most significant steps of this study is maintaining a high level of diversity – not only in question gathering but also in the selection of panellists from the Global South.”

Together, these two papers provide an excellent introduction to how plant science is developing and the significance, range and depth of research that needs to be addressed.

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*This study was funded by the Bristol Centre for Agricultural Innovation.

Western Cape wheat producers who farm according to conservation agriculture principles should aim to implement zero-tillage (using disc planters) and crop rotation with broadleaves to keep outbreaks of Fusarium crown rot (FCR) to a minimum. That is the conclusion a new South African study made on the effect that crop rotation and different tillage practices have in controlling this global disease. It was completed by Mr Stephan Theron as part of his recent MSc studies in Agronomy at Stellenbosch University.

Conservation agriculture (CA) principles such as crop rotation, the retention of residue and reduced soil disturbance are widely applied throughout the Western Cape wheat belt.

FCR is caused by a fungus called Fusarium pseudograminearum and occurs globally. It is also one of the most devastating diseases of wheat in the Western Cape. It impacts the quality of wheat, and can reduce yields by as much as 40% in some cases. Experts believe it will occur more frequently and have a greater impact as droughts become more frequent and prolonged.

“The predictions are that droughts will increase in the Western Cape in future due to climate change. Therefore it is important that we learn how to manage FCR locally as best as possible, and not merely follow guidelines set for other countries that have a different climate or soils from ours,” says Mr Theron.

Crop rotation research

His experimental work was conducted as part of existing long-term soil quality studies on two research farms of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture: Tygerhoek in the southern Cape, and Langgewens in the Swartland. Funding was received from the South African Winter Cereal Industry Trust.

To study the impact of crop rotation, wheat was rotated with either canola (Brassica napus), lupin (Lupinus spp.) or annual medics (Medicago spp.) during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The effect of these treatments were compared with wheat planted in monoculture.

Within each crop rotation, Theron also tested the impact of tillage practices like zero tillage (no prior soil disturbance, double disc planter), no tillage (no prior soil disturbance, tine planter), minimum tillage (shallow tine tillage, tine planter), and conventional tillage (shallow tine tillage followed by deep soil disturbance with a plough, tine planter).

Theron established that the use of crop rotation with broadleaf crops works well to significantly reduce the incidence and severity of FCR, compared to wheat planted in monoculture. It also improved the yield and quality of harvested wheat.

“Crop rotation with non-host crops, in our case canola, medics and lupin all reduced FCR parameters, mainly by breaking the disease cycle and build-up of disease over years.

“The incidence and severity of the disease is also reduced with zero tillage, where more crop residue is retained on the soil surface. This practice does not influence grain yield or quality,” Mr Theron added.

With zero tillage, seeds were planted shallower than treatments with more soil disturbance. This results in the sub-crown internode being shorter than when seeds were seeded more deeply.

According to Mr Theron, a shorter sub-crown internode has definite benefits, as it boils down to a smaller area that the FCR pathogen can infect. Seedling establishment was better, likely due to the protection of higher residue loads. Soil water conservation later in the season was also better in less disturbed soil.

“This contributes to FCR management, a disease that is generally more severe in drought conditions,” says Mr Theron. Plant residues decomposed faster with less soil disturbance, likely due to better microbe activity. This too helps to decrease FCR levels.

“Crop rotation determines the type of residue present in a field of wheat, whereas the type of tillage used determines the distribution and load thereof,” explains Theron.

Some of his findings are published in the journals Crop Protection and the South African Journal of Plant and Soil. His project was supervised by Prof Pieter Swanepoel, chair of the Department of Agronomy at Stellenbosch University (SU), Dr Lindy Rose of the SU Department of Plant Pathology, and production scientist Dr Gert van Coller of the Directorate of Plant Science at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.

“Theron’s interdisciplinary study, in which he combined both agronomic and plant pathology information, sheds light on complex questions and shows what farmers can do to sustainably manage and protect wheat from FCR. His recommendations on how wheat producers can manage it have already attracted the attention of the wheat industry, and are set to be impactful,” says Prof Swanepoel.

“His findings provide good news to producers, since they show that conservation agriculture practices like crop rotation and zero tillage, while being cost effective, also reduced FCR levels,” adds Dr Van Coller.

According to Mr Theron, the impact of FCR in Australia was already estimated in 2009 to be around 79 million Australian dollars per year. “Its impact on the South African wheat industry has not yet been quantified,” he notes.

* Theron graduated in December 2022, and works as a field agronomist for Adama South Africa in Cape Town. He graduated from Huguenot High School in Wellington in 2016, and developed a love for farming thanks to numerous family visits to his grandfather’s farm in the Free State. Before pursuing his MSc degree in Agronomy, he completed a BScAgric in Plant Pathology and Agronomy, also from Stellenbosch University.

Cape Town, South Africa – Dr Erna Blancquaert, lecturer in Grapevine and Wine Sciences at Stellenbosch University, was awarded the prestigious Viti- and Viniculture award at the annual Wine Harvest Commemorative Event. The event was hosted at Groot Constantia, South Africa’s oldest wine-producing farm, located in Cape Town.

The Wine Harvest Commemorative Event is a well-established custom in the South African wine industry that encourages all participants to strive for new heights of excellence. This year the event was held to honour the beginning of South Africa’s wine industry 364 years ago, and to pay tribute to four people who have paved the way for future generations.

Dr Blancquaert’s ground-breaking research in the field of viticulture has earned her this well-deserved recognition. Her dedication to the science of wine production and her contributions to the industry have been instrumental in advancing the field.

She made significant contributions to the winemaking industry through the development of novel concepts, technologies, and methodologies as well as the implementation and dissemination of those concepts, methodologies, and practises.

As a trailblazer in her field, Dr Blancquaert has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first woman of colour to earn a PhD in Viticulture and Oenology. She has paved the way for future generations of women and people of colour in the industry.

“I am deeply honoured to receive this award and grateful for the support of my colleagues and mentors,” said Dr Blancquaert. “My passion for viticulture is rooted in a deep appreciation for the beauty and complexity of grapevines and the role they play in producing one of the world’s most beloved beverages.”

Dr Blancquaert also supervises Master’s and PhD students in Viticulture and Oenology, Sustainable Agriculture, and Wine Biotechnology. She enjoys transferring ideas to students and altering mindsets from all walks of life and is devoted to addressing persistent bias in the wine industry and in academia in a positive way.

According to the South African Wine Harvest the recipient of the Viti- and Viniculture award is someone who has developed new ideas, technologies, and methods within the wine-making industry, and also implemented and transferred these ideas and methodologies, changing mindsets and benefiting the South African wine industry as a whole.

The Viti- and Viniculture award recognises excellence in the study of grapevines and wine production. It is a testament to Dr Blancquaert’s hard work and dedication to advancing the field.

Martin John (MJ) Richard, an MSc student in the Fruit and Postharvest Pathology programme at Stellenbosch University (SU), won the Young Minds award at the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) International Pear Symposium. The event was hosted at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) in January 2023.

Supervised by Drs Julia Meitz-Hopkins and Cheryl Lennox, MJ delivered a presentation on his Hortgro Science-funded project that examines the epidemiology and postharvest control of black rot in Forelle pears in the Western Cape. With South Africa being the fifth largest exporter of pears worldwide, postharvest decay caused by latent fungal pathogens can result in significant economic losses. Therefore, to maintain the quality of the shipped produce, postharvest fungicides are applied during packing. MJ’s study is the first to investigate postharvest control options for the emerging pathogens causing black rot in South Africa.

His research focused on the identification of emerging fungal pathogens of Forelle pears and the control of the main causal pathogen (Diplodia seriata) using registered postharvest fungicides, namely the active ingredients fludioxonil and pyrimethanil. MJ evaluated the efficacy of the two ingredients in vitro, followed by fruit trials using a lab drench.

The International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS) recently announced that Dr Adefemi Alade, who completed his PhD in Wood Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) in 2022, had won their coveted annual doctoral award.

The award recognises outstanding dissertation research at doctoral level by students globally. Adefemi was supervised by Profs Brand Wessels and Luvuyo Tyhoda from SU’s Department of Forest and Wood Science. His dissertation examined the effect of durability treatment on adhesive bonding of Eucalyptus grandis wood.

The use of new engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) has increased exponentially in the developed world over the past few years. However, the adoption of these materials as building elements proves problematic in some parts of the world where wood bio-deterioration is a concern. CLT members cannot be treated after production because of dimensional constraints of treatment facilities. Treatment of lamellas before gluing is most effective, but poses technical problems relating to adhesion in the glue line.

In his study of potential treatment options and adhesive systems to manufacture durable CLT components from the wood of the Eucalyptus grandis, Adefemi identified viable and greener process pathways that could be readily adopted by industry. His study results were accepted for publication in various scientific journals. He has since taken up a position as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Idaho, United States.

The first and second runners-up for the IAWS award were Drs Lu Yu (University of Tennessee, United States) and Ondrej Dvoracek (Graz University of Technology, Austria) respectively.

* For more on Adefemi’s thesis, consult the IAWS website at https://www.iaws-web.org/downloads/Bulletin-2022_2.pdf.

By Dr Jane Battersby-Lennard (University of Cape Town) and Julia Harper (Stellenbosch University)

The Nourished Child project – a collaboration between City University (United Kingdom), the University of Cape Town’s African Centre for Cities, Stellenbosch University (SU), the Southern African Food Lab, UNICEF and the Western Cape provincial government – aims to better understand the experiences of mothers and caregivers trying to feed their children nutritious diets.

Launched in 2020, the project works closely with community partners in the urban neighbourhoods of Masiphumelele (Cape Town) and Zweletemba (Worcester). The end goal is to improve the design of food and nutrition-specific policies and programmes.

The researchers have found that the food choices of mothers and caregivers in these communities are shaped by limited income, poor access to water, sanitation and reliable energy, their housing type, the feeding opportunities provided by their local early childhood development (ECD) centres, and the kinds of nutrition information available to them.

Mothers’ decisions about how long to breastfeed their children are shaped in part by the information provided by the clinics and programmes such as the national Department of Health’s MomConnect initiative. Other factors that play a role in this regard are shared community knowledge, the influence of grandmothers who sometimes provide vital financial support, limited support from the child’s father, and the pervasive influence of follow-on formula. One key project deliverable has been a series of recommendations to broaden existing programmes so as to incorporate these factors.

Moreover, the project has identified new entry points for the state to address food and nutrition security by incorporating nutrition into all other government services. Indeed, government mandates such as spatial planning, basic service delivery and formally registering ECD centres are all key elements of food policy and security. Therefore, explicitly addressing nutrition in policies and programmes in these and other fields can deliver significant benefits for food security.

In his 2022 State of the Nation address, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa called on all social partners – government, labour, business and communities – to work together to grow the country’s economy, create jobs and combat hunger. The Nourished Child project has found many examples where this kind of collective responsibility and systems approach is bearing fruit. In Zweletemba, for instance, the mothers explained how their entire households had received food parcels from their children’s registered ECD centres during the Covid-19 lockdown as a result of private-sector and non-governmental organisation engagement. In Masiphumelele, in turn, there are ECD centres with thriving gardens that feed not only the children at the centres, but also donate produce to local community kitchens. This has been enabled through civil society funding, training and other support.

Yet perhaps the most exciting opportunity to improve child nutrition through a systems approach is the emerging network of “nutrition ambassadors” in Masiphumelele. An initiative of research participants and community members themselves, the nutrition ambassadors serve as advocates for healthy diets, advancing the cause of child malnutrition in their community.

The costs of poor child nutrition are vast – both for our present and our future. To effectively improve child nutrition will take a systems approach. It will require the involvement of all tiers of government, the private sector and civil society, with strong representation from the communities most affected. While we are starting to see green shoots within and beyond the state, we still have a long way to go.

Stellenbosch University (SU) is making its mark as a world-renowned provider of conservation training. Prof Karen Esler from the University’s Department of Conservation Ecology recently returned from Gland, Switzerland, where she attended the first post-Covid face-to-face meeting of the IUCN Academy – a collaboration between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and a select group of global academic partners.

In 2021, the IUCN reached out to SU and another six top universities worldwide to help them develop innovative training in the broad field of nature conservation, following a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to the discipline. Consequently, SU, the University of California, Berkeley (United States), Cambridge University (United Kingdom), the University of Campinas (Brazil), Tsinghua University (China), ETH Zürich (Switzerland) and the Australia National University (Australia) signed a memorandum of understanding, and the IUCN Academy was launched in September of that year.

The academy seeks to harness the expertise of its academic partners to help build capacity at key pressure points in support of the goals of the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The GBF, adopted at the COP15 climate conference in December 2022, calls for enhanced “communication, education and awareness on biodiversity”, including through partnerships with academia and by “integrating transformative education on biodiversity into formal, non-formal and informal education programmes”.

“I see SU’s participation in the IUCN Academy as a remarkable opportunity to connect the wide-ranging and top-class insights of our local academics to global conservation and restoration theory and practice,” says Karen. “We should be very proud that the IUCN has sought us out for this global initiative, and I am excited not only to contribute, but also to feed new lessons and insights back into our own environment.”

In December 2022, delegates from across sub-Saharan Africa attended an advanced course in fruit fly control in Stellenbosch. The course was developed within the framework of the international project F³: Fruit Fly Free, which is funded by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF).

Fruit fly training has been presented by Drs Marc de Meyer and Massimiliano Virgilio from the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, Belgium, in various parts of Africa for a number of years. This particular course forms part of a series of tutorials designed in collaboration with SU’s Prof Pia Addison from the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology. Invited guest speakers included Drs Minette Karsten, Aruna Manrakhan and Francois Bekker (SU research associates), Prof Chris Weldon (University of Pretoria), Dr David Nestel (Israel) and Dr Welma Pieterse (SU).

Fruit flies pose a severe threat to agricultural production and productivity in Africa. Fruit fly infestations reduce the quality of produce, disrupt trade, and result in huge financial losses, which ultimately affect livelihoods and food security on a continent that can least afford it. 

The six participants hailing from Mozambique, Burundi, Uganda, Senegal and South Africa were fully funded by the STDF. All six had prior experience of fruit fly research. Therefore, the course aimed to provide more detailed training to equip participants as key experts in their regions in relation to the taxonomy, trapping and monitoring of fruit flies, as well as record-keeping and the use of databases.

Intended as a “train the trainers” initiative, the course will hopefully result in further localised workshops in South Africa and the rest of the sub-Saharan African region to provide training on basic fruit fly identification and monitoring.

The South African Society of Crop Production (SASCP), the Soil Science Society of South Africa (SSSSA) and the Southern African Society for Horticultural Sciences (SASHS) hosted their annual combined congress from 23 to 26 January 2023. Thirteen delegates from the Department of Agronomy at Stellenbosch University (SU) attended the event in Pretoria, presenting posters and papers while rubbing shoulders with big names in industry and academia.

Dr Estelle Kempen presented to the SASHS and was also elected to the organisation’s council, while Dr Flackson Tshuma delivered a talk to the SSSSA. The new brand-aligned SU poster and PowerPoint presentation templates served delegates well. Striking maroon-and-gold posters were submitted by Beatrix Alweendo, Happiness Baloyi, Guy Musto, Mosima Mabitsela, Mulweli Machidze and Louise Bestbier. Hanneke Augustyn, Guy Musto, Bruno Herrmann, Gert Conradie, Izane Crous, Sandra Clarke and Lisa Matthews delivered engaging student presentations.

The SU delegation scooped more awards than any other university represented at the event. Hanneke Augustyn received the Rovic Leers award for best Conservation Agriculture poster of 2022, while Dr PJ Pieterse won best South African Journal of Plant and Soil paper for both 2021and 2022 . The student award for best presentation of 2022 went to Amandrie Louw, and Lisa Matthews received the 2023 award. In addition, Lisa won the student award for best Conservation Agriculture presentation of 2023 for her talk on greenhouse gas emissions from different crop rotation systems in the Swartland region of the Western Cape.

Louise Bestbier took home the president’s award for best poster of 2023 for her poster on Paraquat resistance and germination in Lolium species. Finally, the dean’s relief trophy for best paper by a young scientist was awarded to Charge Viljoen .

Congratulations to these staff and students who kept the SU banner flying high. You did us proud!

The Agricultural Economics Department at Stellenbosch University (SU) has a new chair. Having assumed office in January 2023, Prof André Jooste boasts an impressive CV with over 24 years’ experience across various disciplines in the field of agriculture.

As an academic, André’s previous endeavours include being former associate professor and chair of the Agricultural Economics Department at the University of the Free State. At the National Agricultural Marketing Council, he spearheaded the establishment of the Markets and Economic Research Centre (MERC), which he developed into a highly regarded policy advisory unit in the South African and international context. As chief executive officer of Potatoes SA, André led this industry body in strategy development and the implementation of its core business mandate, including building business and public-sector relations. In 2013, he received the Agriculturalist of the Year award of Agricultural Writers SA North. André currently serves on various agricultural industry councils and government committees and has extensive networks in the national and global private and public sector.

When asked about his vision for the Department during his tenure as chair, he says: “The brain trust in the Department has made its mark in agriculture in South Africa over the years and contributed significantly to an agricultural sector recognised globally for expertise, sustainability and resilience. My vision is to build on these successes in a rapidly changing environment.” To this end, André will rely on the entire Agricultural Economics team. “To sustain our success, staff need to keep pace with, and be involved in, the engine room where changes occur. We must ensure that we prepare students for the future, equipping them with relevant knowledge and skills. At the same time, our research must remain industry-focused and relevant. The task is too big for one person, so the Department will undertake this journey together as a team to ensure that we remain relevant and provide the necessary leadership and critical thinking to make a meaningful contribution to society.”

For more information about SU’s Agricultural Economics Department or to explore collaboration opportunities, please email joostea@sun.ac.za