Fpik mielieland 1 crp
Southern African Society for Plant Pathology
Advancing Agriculture in Southern Africa

SASPP AWARDEES

SASPP Awardees

Fellows

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2022

Prof. Dave Berger has made substantial contributions to the field of plant pathology and has been a member of the SASPP since 1995. He represented the SASPP in many ways over the years including the Society representative at the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) since 2019. More recently, he was a member of the organizing committee that promoted the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH2020) and likewise represented the SASPP in the NSTF Forum with a widely viewed presentation “Plant health in South Africa – threats to biosecurity, biodiversity and food security” Beyond our borders, Prof. Berger has actively promoted Plant Pathology at various international fora. For example, he has been a member of the International Society for Molecular-Plant Microbe Interactions (IS-MPMI), a section of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) since 1999, a member of the British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP) and has been an Editorial Board member for the European Journal of Plant Pathology.

Prof Berger has received many awards relating to his research on plant diseases. These include Fellow of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council (2021), the University of Pretoria Exceptional Academic Achiever Award (2020), one of the nominees for the South African Plant Breeders Association top 20 most influential Plant Breeders in Africa for 2020, the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) – South32 “Crop Science and Food Security” National Award in 2016, which commemorated the “2016: International Year of the Pulses” of the FAO, and he received the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship in 2013. Prof. Berger is an NRF B-rated researcher who has led the Molecular Plant-Pathogen Interactions (MPPI) research group in the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) since 2000. He has published more than 70 papers in ISI Web of Science Journals and has several patents relating to DNA markers and transgenic strategies for disease resistance in maize. He has supervised or co-supervised more than 60 MSc and PhD students, 34 Honours students and 14 postdoctoral fellows working in the field of molecular plant pathology. He can be credited as one of the small number of people that have played a pivotal role in introducing new molecular plant pathology research themes and technologies to the local plant pathology community. In this regard, he stands very comfortably amongst the leaders of the SASPP and equally amongst its community of Fellows.

Professor Dave Berger is Chair of Postgraduate Studies and Research in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and affiliated with the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria. His advice to young scientists interested in a research career in plant pathology – cultivate your specialist expertise, be prepared to collaborate in multi-disciplinary teams, and get into the field as much as possible.

Professor in Plant Pathology (1984 – current)

 

Contact Details: Lise.korsten@up.ac.za

079 522 8476

012 420 3295

Experience:

  • 2002 – Present: Full Professor, UP
  • 1997 – 2001: Associate Professor, UP
  • 1988 – 1996: Senior Lecturer, UP
  • 1984 – 1988: Research officer, UP

 

Education:

1993: PhD Plant Pathology 1984: MSc Microbiology 1980: BSc Hons Microbiology

1979: BSc Plant Pathology and Botany

Other Responsibilities:

Editor for Food Security Springer.

Chair of the Global Task Force on Food Security for the International Society for Plant Pathology since 2013.

Theme leader Food Safety in the DST, NRF Centre of Excellence Food Security and in the Institute for Food Nutrition and Well-Being, University of Pretoria since 2013.

Houseparent of Jasmyn residence since November 2013. Now called House Khutso.

Current Undergraduate teaching:

PLG 351: General Plant Pathology

PLG 251: Introductory Crop Protection

Previous Undergraduate teaching:

MBY352: Microbial Ecology

PLG 251: Introduction to Plant Pathology

PLG 351: Advanced Plant Pathology

Research Interests:

  • Fresh Produce Food Safety
  • Mushroom health and safety
  • Biological control of fruit diseases
  • Postharvest fruit pathology
  • Market access: Phytosanitary aspects of trade.

Major Research Grants:

A few major grants have been attracted by Prof Korsten and her group and include briefly the following:

  1. 7th European Union Framework
  2. US Aid
  3. US PEER
  4. Water Research Commission

Short Bio

Prof Korsten is currently a co-Director of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence Food Security. She is also responsible for the food safety programme within the CoE and actively interact with other researchers in various institutes. She is an editor for Food Security from Springer and Chair of the International Society for Plant Pathology Task Force on Global Food Security. Prof Korsten has addressed Parliament on Food Safety Control and has developed a national framework for Government to develop a Food Control Authority.

Prof Korsten developed South Africa’s first biocontrol agent for fruit and established a biocontrol research group at the University of Pretoria. She has also established a fruit health group that focuses on food safety of fresh produce and on Sanitary and Phytosanitary aspects related to international trade.

Prof Korsten has focussed her research mainly on complementary fields of postharvest technology and food safety as related to international trade in fresh produce. As a team her group has been able to develop several innovative technologies to reduce disease and prevent product contamination. The value of her research programmes can best be illustrated by the sustained industry financial support, student training and publications. She has been able to attract extensive funding over her entire academic career.

Prof Korsten has established a core of researchers and support staff that has been with her for the past 20 Years totally funded by the Industry. She has supervised 51 MSc students, 20 PhD students and 11 Post Docs.

Commercialisation of research outputs: Prof Korsten has also developed one of the first biocontrol products in South Africa that was patented, registered and commercialised. An alternative mushroom casing material has been developed from waste products to produce mushrooms in sea freight containers. The alternative mushroom casing material has been licenced to Mabu. Co- development of several commercial biocontrol products that has been commercialised for the agricultural industry has resulted in royalty payments.

Peer reviewed papers published in 2019 – 2022:

  1. Wassermann, B.,Abdelfattah, A., Müller, H., Korsten, L., and Berg, G. 2022. The microbiome and resistome of apple fruits alter in the post-harvest period. Environmental microbiome, 17 (1), 1-15.
  2. Baloyi, T., Duvenage, S., Du Plessis, E., Villamizar-Rodríguez, G., and Korsten, L. 2022. Multidrug resistant Escherichia coli from fresh produce sold by street vendors in South African informal settlements. International journal of environmental health research, 32 (7), 1513-1528.
  3. Bill, M., Gokul, J.K., Viljoen, F., and Korsten, L. 2022. Fungal microbiome shifts on avocado fruit associated with a combination of postharvest chemical and physical interventions. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 133(3), 1905-1918.
  4. Crous, P.W., Sandoval-Denis, M., Costa, M.M., Groenewald, J.Z., van Iperen, A.L., Starink-Willemse, M., Hernández-Restrepo, M., Kandemir, H., Ulaszewski, B., de Boer, W., et al., 2022. Fusarium and Allied Fusarioid Taxa (FUSA). 1. Fungal Systematics and Evolution, 9 (1), 161-200.
  5. Micallef, S.A., Du Plessis, E.M., Duvenage, S., and Korsten, L. 2022. ESKAPE (d) into the Food Chain? Harnessing the Power of Whole Genome Sequencing in Fresh Produce Production from Farm to Retail for the Surveillance of Antimicrobial-Resistant Foodborne Pathogens. European Symposium on Food Safety 2022.
  6. Richter, L., du Plessis, E.M., Duvenage, S. and Korsten, L. 2022. Microbiological safety of spinach throughout commercial supply chains in Gauteng Province, South Africa and characterization of isolated multidrug‐resistant Escherichia coli. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 132 (3), 2389-2409.
  7. Savary, S.,Waddington, S., Akter, S., Almekinders, C.J.M., Harris, J., Korsten, L., et al. 2022. Revisiting food security in 2021: an overview of the past year. Food Security, 1-7.
  8. Ratshilingano, M.T., du Plessis, E.M., Duvenage, S., and Korsten, L. 2021. Characterization of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolated from Two Commercial Lettuce and Spinach Supply Chains. Journal of Food Protection, 85 (1), 122-132.
  9. Duvenage, S., Rossouw, W., Villamizar-Rodríguez, G., du Plessis, E.M., & Korsten, L. 2021. Antibiotic resistance profiles of Staphylococcus spp. from white button mushrooms and handlers. South African Journal of Science. 117(11/12).
  10. Bill, M., Chidamba, L., Gokul, J.K. & Korsten, L. 2021. Mango Endophyte and Epiphyte Microbiome Composition during Fruit Development and Post-Harvest Stages. Horticulturae, 7(11), 495.
  11. Iwu, C.D., du Plessis, E., Korsten, L., and Okoh, A.I. 2021. Antibiogram imprints of E. coli O157: H7 recovered from irrigation water and agricultural soil samples collected from two district municipalities in South Africa. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 78 (6), 940-953.
  12. Caron, P., van Ittersum, M., Avermaete, T., Brunori, G., Fanzo, J., Giller, K., Hainzelin, E., Ingram, J., Korsten, L., Martin-Prével, Y., Osiru, M., Palm, C., Rivera Ferre, M., Rufino, M., Schneider, S., Thomas, A. & Walker, D. 2021. Statement based on the 4TH international conference on global food security – December 2020: Challenges for a disruptive research Agenda. Global Food Security, Volume 30, 100554, ISSN 2211- 9124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100554.
  13. du Plessis, E.M., Duvenage, S., Korsten, L. and Sigge,G. 2021. Measurement of water pollution determining the sources and changes of microbial contamination and impact on food safety from farming to retail level for fresh vegetables. Water Research Commission Report 2021.
  14. Loots, M., Chidamba, L. & Korsten, L. 2021. Microbial load and prevalence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in macadamia nut production systems. Journal of Food Protection 84 (6): 1088-1096. DOI 10.4315/JFP-20-23.
  15. Manhique, G.A., Hessel, C.T., Du Plessis, E.M., Lopes, S.M., de Oliveira Elias, S., Tondo, E.C. and Korsten, L. 2020. Prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae on ready to eat salads, drinking water and surfaces in food markets of Maputo, Mozambique. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 8(1): 63-73. (Journal impact factor 2018 (Clarivate Analytics): 2.553.)
  16. Richter, L., du Plessis, E.M., Duvenage, S. and Korsten, L. 2020. Occurrence, phenotypic and molecular characterization of extended-spectrum- and ampC-b-Lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae isolated from selected commercial spinach supply chains in South Africa. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11:638. Published online doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00638
  17. Gqozo, M.P., Bill, M., Siyoum, N., Labuschagne, N. and Korsten, L. 2020. Fungal diversity and community composition of wheat rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils from three different agricultural production regions of South Africa. Applied Soil Ecology, 151, July 2020, 103543 (Journal impact Factor 2019 (Incites): 3.445)
  18. Richter, L., du Plessis, E.M., Duvenage, S. and Korsten, L. 2020. Occurrence, phenotypic and molecular characterization of extended-spectrum- and ampC-b-Lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae isolated from selected commercial spinach supply chains in South Africa. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11:638. Published online doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00638 (Journal impact factor 2019 (Inicites): 4.259)
  19. Kusstatscher, P.,Cernava, T., Abdelfattah, A., Gokul, J., Korsten, L. & Berg, G. 2020. Microbiome approaches provide the key to biologically control postharvest pathogens and storability of fruits and vegetables. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaa119. Journal impact Factor 2019 (Incites): 3.675).
  20. Bill, M., Chidamba, L., Gokul, J.K., Labuschagne, N. and Korsten, L. Bacterial community dynamics and functional profiling of soils from conventional and organic cropping systems: a case study at Saasveld, Western Cape South Africa (Applied Soil Ecology, APSOIL_2020_500R1 In Press
  21. Bill, M., Chidamba, L. and Korsten, L, 2019. Exploring the fungal microbiomes associated with organic and conventional cropping systems in a comparative field trial, Western Cape, South Africa. Submitted to Microbial Ecology. ID MECO-D-20-00281 Applied Soil Ecology. In Press
  22. Iwu C.D, Korsten L. & Okoh A.I. 2019. Prevalence and antibiogram imprints of E. coli O157:H7 and its Shiga toxigenic strains in irrigation water and agricultural soil: A potential threat to public health. Frontiers in Public.

Recent papers linked to Microbiomes:

  1. Volschenk, Q., Du Plessis, E., Duvenage, F. and Korsten, L. 2016. Effect of postharvest practices on the fungal and yeast biomes associated with the pear carpoplane. Posthavest Biology and Technology 118: 87-95. Journal impact factor 2019 = 4.303).
  2. Rossouw, W., and Korsten, L. 2017. Cultivable microbiome of fresh white button mushrooms. Letters of Applied Microbiology, 64: 164-170. (Journal impact factor 2019 = 2.173).
  3. Gomba, A., Chidamba, L. and L. Korsten, 2017. Effect of postharvest practices including degreening on citrus carpoplane microbial biomes. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 122(4):1057-1070 (Journal impact factor 2019 = 3.066).
  4. Carmichael, P, Siyoum, N., Chidamba, L. and Korsten L. 2017. Characterisation of fungal communities in table grape developmental stages in table grape grown in the northern region of South Africa. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 123, 1251-1262. (Journal impact factor 2019: 3.066).
  5. Carmichael, P.C., Siyoum, N., Chidamba, L. and Korsten, L. 2019. Exploring the microbial communities associated with Botrytis cinerea during berry development in table grape with emphasis on potential biocontrol yeasts. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 154:919–930. (Journal impact factor 2018: 1.744).

Prof. Mark Laing has been a member of the society since 1983, as a postgraduate student. Mark’s involvement in the SASPP has been significant. He was involved in the redrafting of the constitution and regulations of the SASPP, Regional Branch Chair for UKZN from 1990 to 2003, and President (2014 to 2019). He has published extensively in the field (over 380 research items and publications) and trained more than 160 MSc and PhD students. He also established and manages the highly successful African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI). His research interests range from biocontrol of pathogens, pests, and nematodes to plant breeding and near-infra-red analysis. In addition, Prof. Laing has a keen interest in the global climate crisis and gives lectures on the topic to professional scientific societies, environmental groups, and school children. He retires at the end of 2022, after 44 years in Plant Pathology, 38 years as an academic at the University of Natal and UKZN, and 22 years as the Professor and Chair of Plant Pathology.

Prof. Laing has been nominated to become a Professor Emeritus at UKZN. He will continue to supervise postgraduates, and manage projects on biocontrol, postharvest disease management, near-infra red analysis and the breeding and commercialization of sweet sorghum, sugar beet and cassava. He will continue to work with a biocontrol company (Andermatt-PHP (Pty) Ltd) and a medicinal plants company (Imiti (Pty) Ltd), which he co-founded. He was recently elected as Chairman of PADCA (the Pietermaritzburg and District Council for the Aged), which manages six retirement facilities in Pietermaritzburg. His great passion is golf, with a handicap down to 9 in 2022.

Prof. Chrissie Rey has been a member of the society since the very first congress in the early 1980’s when SASPP split from the joint SASM Society (Microbiology). She has delivered many keynote addresses at national and international congresses over 35 years, but to mention a few more recent ones, was in 2011 at the SASPP 47th Congress, Kruger National Park, where she delivered the JE Vanderplank Memorial Address: “Twenty-eight years of host-pathogen interactions in plant disease: where to next?” In 2013, she was keynote speaker at the 12th International Symposium on Plant Virus Epidemiology in Arusha, Tanzania, where she delivered a talk entitled “Transmission of cassava and tomato begomoviruses in South Africa by native and introduced Bemisia tabaci haplotypes”. Besides being a staunch supporter of SASPP, in November 2013 she also organized the 18th Biennial Conference of the South African Society of Microbiology in Bela Bela. In 2014, as the SA Representative for Virology on the International Union of Microbiological Societies, she represented SA at the Congress held in Montreal, Canada, and gave a keynote research presentation. She also gave a key address at the IDP-Bridges workshop on the 26th of October 2017 at the Zurich Botanical Gardens, Zurich, Switzerland entitled ‘Are scientists and policy makers compatible? In 2020, she was invited as the keynote speaker at Virology Africa 2020 in Cape Town where she delivered a presentation “An integrated model for tolerance and susceptibility to cassava mosaic disease”.

Prof. Rey during pursuit of her research contributed to agricultural biotechnology and food security through her pioneered work on viral diseases of several crops, especially cassava since 1987. More recently she did work on geminiviruses in tobacco and tomato. She expanded her research from molecular identification, detection, and characterization of virus diseases to include biotechnology and genomics aspects. While her research is primarily fundamental, it is aimed at improvement of cassava as a crop for economic enhancement and food security in SA and eventually in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. She pioneered genetic engineering of cassava on the African continent, being the first laboratory to transform cassava for geminivirus resistance though RNA silencing and enhanced starch production. Locally, she has attempted to shift her research in line with national priorities for sustainable livelihoods, crop diversification and poverty alleviation, while at the same time using new biotechnologies in the biological field to address important research questions. She also worked on cassava in Mozambique for over 11 years and has worked on several virus projects in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as yams in West Africa. She was appointed by the European Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD to be Chairperson of the Cassava Consensus Document as part of the programme of the OECD Task Force on the safety of Novel Food and Feeds. Prof. Rey has since 1987 trained over 60 Honours students, 50 MSc students and 42 PhD students mainly in the field of plant biotechnology and in particular genetic engineering of plants which is a skill only developed in three or four laboratories in SA on edible crops such as grapes, maize, sugarcane, and potato. In recognition of postgraduate capacity development, she was awarded the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Award.

Prof. Rey is currently Emeritus Professor of Microbiology, School of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of the Witwatersrand where she continues to supervise post-graduate students and is involved in a collaborative European Union LeaPAgri Project with France, Kenya and Belgium where she continues to work on exploring resistance to cassava geminiviral diseases. She is also a passionate compulsive gardener which attests for her general love of plants. While she is no longer able to play tennis, a life-long activity, due to physical injuries, she continues to watch tennis on TV and has travelled to the US, UK, France, and Australia to attend the major tennis tournaments. However, despite these distractions, and passion for travel and animals in particular cats, “science” is her first love. Her message to young scientists is to appreciate the privilege it is in life being a scientist. She is also infamous for speaking her mind and once quoted this to one of the Deans of Science (who also happened to be from the discipline of actuarial science and applied mathematics): “You see an excel spreadsheet when you wake up in the morning and I see an endless blue sky of possibilities”. There is also a saying “that if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life”. She quotes “Work? What is that? I have never worked a day in my life.” That is the joy of science.

Prof. Wijnand J. Swart has been an active member of the SASPP throughout his career, reaching back some 35 years. Prof. Swart studied at the University of Stellenbosch, obtaining a BSc degree in Forestry/Nature Conservation in 1980 and a MSc Agric. (cum laude) degree in Plant Pathology in 1986. In 1988, he was appointed lecturer in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of the Free State where he obtained his PhD degree in 1991.

He has served the society in many leadership positions and is the current President. He has made important contributions to Plant Pathology related issues linked to other societies and organisations. These have been linked to his interest in so called ‘orphan crops” such as cactus pear and hemp. For example, he was the President of the Southern African New Crop Research Association (SANCRA) 1998 to 2002, Treasurer of the Organizing Committee of SASCP, SANCRA and SAWSS Congress, Bloemfontein in 2000; served on the Advisory Board of the Southern African Cactus Pear Network as Consulting Plant Pathologist, 1998 and 2002 and was the Sub-Saharan Representative: FAO International Network for Technical Cooperation on Cactus Pear, CACTUSNET-FAO 2000 to 2012. In addition, he has played an active role in various activities relating to plant pathology in the international arena including being an official member of a six-person delegation nominated by the Department of Science and Technology, South Africa, to visit Mexico in August 2008 on a fact-finding mission with a view to signing a bi-lateral agreement on scientific co-operation. He also served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), Abu Dhabi, UAE from 2013 to 2016. As researcher, Prof. Swart broadly focuses on adopting a “total systems approach” to plant health management by utilizing the functional diversity of fungi and bacteria, above- and below ground, as bio-indicators of soil and plant health. In this field, he has made important contributions to plant pathology having authored or co-authored 115 scientific publications in highly accredited scientific journals. Likewise, he has presented more than 85 papers at national and international congresses. He has also contributed substantially to furthering the future of plant pathology in South Africa having supervised or co-supervised a total 51 MSc and PhD graduates during his career. These accomplishments place him very comfortably amongst the leaders of our Society and likewise amongst its small community of Fellows.

Prof. Swart is currently Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences (Division of Plant Pathology) at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. He is retiring to the southern Cape in 2023/4 where he intends furthering his hobbies in photography, writing poetry and fishing.

Fellows of the SASPP from 1981–2019

1986      

 

 

1988

 

1989

1991

 

1993

1995

1999

2002

2013

2015

Prof GDC Pauer

Dr CJ Rabie

Dr BW Strydom

Prof P Knox-Davies

Prof MM Martin

Dr J Mildenhall

Prof MJ Hattingh

Prof WFO Marasas

Prof FHJ Rijenberg

Prof MJ Wingfield

Prof Z Pretorius

Dr MJ Morris

Prof P Crous

Dr S Lamprecht

Prof TA Coutinho

Fellow - Nominations

Any member of the SASPP society may be elected as a Fellow in recognition for outstanding accomplishments in Plant Pathology as well as support for and service to the SASPP society and to Plant Pathology in southern Africa.

Criteria:

A nominee must:

  • Have at least ten (10) years uninterrupted membership of the SASPP.
  • Have served and promoted the interests of the SASPP society.
  • Have made significant contributions to Plant Pathology in research, teaching, or extension services.
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