I studied B.Sc. agriculture at the University of the Free State (UFS) where I majored in Plant Pathology and Soil Science. During my final year of undergraduate studies at the University of the Free State, I volunteered as a laboratory assistant for a well-known mycologist Dr Marieka Gryzenhout, senior lecturer at the University of the Free State. This experience developed a strong interest in Mycology and Plant Pathology and stimulated the desire to further my knowledge and experience in these fields. In 2015, I joined FABI, at the University of Pretoria, to undertake research towards obtaining an M.Sc. degree in Plant Pathology.

My M.Sc. research project was on the Botryosphaeriaceae on native and exotic Myrtaceae in southern and eastern Africa. Which was under the supervision of Dr. Draginja Pavlic (ARC-PPRI), Prof Jolanda Roux (FABI), and Prof Mike Wingfield.  I completed this degree in the year 2017 and it was a beautiful and somehow challenging experience. Although I enjoyed being in the forest and sampling native trees, I missed agriculture and I longed to be reunited with agricultural diseases. Therefore, in 2018, I decided to further my studies by undertaking a Ph.D. project related to the agricultural industry.

Ph.D. Project

My Ph.D. project is titled: Botryosphaeriaceae in the macadamia canopy and its association with various diseases. My project is part of the Macadamia Protection Program (MPP) in collaboration with the Southern African Macadamia Association (SAMAC) (link). The primary aim of this project is to study the impact of Botryosphaeriaceace species associated with husk rot on nuts, dieback of branches and racemes, and blight of leaves in South Africa, and lastly, it aims to provide the industry with information and tools to manage the different diseases in the orchards. This project is supervised by Dr. Gerda Fourie, Prof Bernard Slippers, Prof Mike Wingfield, and Dr. Elna van der Linde and has three Collaborators: Prof Andre Drenth, Dr. Femi Akinsamni, and Dr. Nicolette Taylor.