SASPP CONFERENCE AWARDS
SASPP Conference Awards
2024
Biennial Conference Awards
inqaba biotec Award for Best Student Presentation in Molecular Biology
The Inqaba biotec Award for best student presentation in Molecular Biology was awarded to Cheyenne Theron (University of Pretoria) for her talk “Pseudocercospora spp. identified as potential causal agents of fruit spot and rot on kiwifruit in South Africa”.
Corteva Agriscience Plant Health Products Floating Trophy for Best Oral presentation on Biological Control
The Corteva Agriscience Plant Health Products Floating Trophy for Best Oral presentation on Biological Control was awarded to Alec Edwards (University of the Free State) for his talk “Harnessing native microbes for sustainable agriculture: assessing indigenous bacteria of the soybean microbiome as biofertilizers and biocontrol agents for the management of Sclerotinia stem rot”.
PANNAR Award for Best Poster Presentation by a Student
The PANNAR Award for Best Poster Presentation by a Student was awarded to Samkelisiwe Thango (University of Pretoria) for her poster “In vitro and in planta phenotyping of Exserohilum turcicum strains in South Africa”.
PANNAR Award for Best Oral Presentation by a Student
The PANNAR Floating Trophy for Best Oral Presentation by a Student was awarded to Kara Janse van Rensburg (University of Stellenbosch) for her talk “Re-examining the epidemiology of Erysiphe necator causing grapevine powdery mildew in South Africa”.
2022
Biennial Conference Awards
SASPP Plant Health Products Award for Best Oral Presentation Biological Control
Presented to Sinegugu Shude for her oral presentation “An integrated control strategy for managing Fusarium head blight of wheat using epiphytic yeasts and a plant defence inducer”.
PANNAR Award for Best Oral Presentation by a Student
Presented to Lihan Esterhuizen for his oral presentation titled “A non-destructive technique for early detection of Phytophthora root rot using hyperspectral leaf reflectance”.
inqaba biotec Award for Best Student Presentation in Molecular Biology
Presented to Dirk Aldrich for his presentation titled “From mutants to informants: Using infectious clones to study citrus tristeza virus-induced stem pitting”.
PANNAR Award for Best Poster Presentation by a Student
Presented to Angel Maduke for her poster titled “Diversity of the Botryosphaeriaceae on Macadamia leaves, nuts, and racemes and their association with disease”.
RUNNER-UP Poster Presentations by Students
Presented to Alida van Dijk for her poster titled “A CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene knockout system to functionally characterize virulence genes in Fusarium circinatum”.
Presented to Neo Victor Hlongwane for his poster titled “Exploring soybean and sunflower microbiomes for beneficial bacterial microorganisms”.
