Dear Colleagues,

We look back at a very successful 6th ICN. We had a lot of positive feedback

from delegates who attended the congress. We are extremely happy that all

our hard work paid off.

8 October 2014 - A very sad day for South African Nematologists. Our dear

friend, colleague and mentor, Prof. Alex McDonald, passed away after losing

his battle with cancer. Our sincere condolences goes to his wife and two

daughters. (Please look at the eulogy by Prof. Driekie Fourie).

I also want to take this opportunity to welcome MC Pretorius and Driekie Fou-

rie on board as our respective president and vice-president of the NSSA.

Vacancies occurred when our president, Dr. Shaun Berry, moved to the

U.S.A. We want to wish Shaun and his family everything of the best.

Jeannie van Biljon

Newsletter editor

Inside this issue:

Editorial 1

Message from the

President

2

Eulogy - Prof. Alex

McDonald

5

Nemconsult—Upington 6

Stellenbosch group 7

New leaps for Nemlab 9

6th ICN - A roaring

success 10

Moments before and

during the 6th ICN 11

Reflections & thought

regarding 6th ICN—Steve

Thomas (President SON).

14

Greetings from SASRI 16

EPN Workshop in Stellen-

bosch 17

ARC Institute for Tropical

& Subtropical Fruits 18

News from ARC Grain

Crops Institute 19

Nematology training and

Research at NWU,

Potchefstroom Campus

20

Nematologu Short Course

Sept. 2015 22

Contact us 23

Prof . Alex McDonald

NSSA NEWSLETTERNSSA NEWSLETTER

EditorialEditorial

Volume 59

NEMATOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEMATOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF

SOUTHERN AFRICASOUTHERN AFRICA

March 2015

Dear Friends

At the start of another year, I want to wish you all the very best! I believe the year will be full of chal-

lenges, new research ideas, fun and definitely not enough time!

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing away in October 2014 of a previous President

of our Society, Prof. Alex McDonald. Alex was a nematologist who did so much for nematology and our

Society. For me personally it was a great honour to know Alex and to also serve as an EC member

with him for a number of years. As a society we extend our sincere condolences to his wife and chil-

dren. We will always remember your valuable contributions Alex! May you rest in Peace.

One of the highlights of the NSSA was the privilege of hosting the 6th ICN in Cape Town during May

2014. The congress was attended by at least 500 delegates representing 38 countries from around the

globe. Please join me in congratulating and thanking Mieke Daneel and the organising committee for

all their hard work which made this one of the best and memorable International Congresses ever!! you

made the NSSA and South Africa proud!

Shortly after the 6th ICN we were back in Stellenbosch where an EPN workshop was hosted by the

NSSA. The workshop was attended by >80 delegates, Mieke Daneel was the convenor and once

again did an excellent job. The guest speaker was Thilivali from the Registrar’s office.

I would like to acknowledge our previous President, Shaun Berry. During Shaun’s reign he joined

Becker Underwood, a Biological control company who was taken over by BASF. At the end of 2014

Shaun was promoted to Global Manager Development manager: Biologicals. In January 2015, Shaun

and his family relocated to the USA, we wish Shaun everything of the best in his new position. He is still

a member of our Society and we will hopefully see him at our next local symposium.

I have asked Shaun to send me something from abroad. This is his response:

Page 2 Volume 59Volume 59

President’s Message President’s Message

“Dear NSSA Members,

Greetings from good ol' USA. My family and I now live permanently in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our de-

parture may have seemed sudden, however nothing sinister in this. It has been in the background and

making for one year at least, however I was not able to talk about it until it was official. I apologize for

not saying good-bye personally to everyone before we left. Anyone who has ever emigrated, will know,

that despite best laid plans and intentions and organisation, it is always chaotic and messy in the end.

May I take this opportunity to send my best wishes to everyone and wish you everything of the best,

both in your personal and professional lives and I hope we meet again somewhere, somehow. The

world is a small place and agriculture, and nematology in particular, even smaller. I also wish everything

of the best to the new President of the NSSA (MC Pretorius). I have had the privilege of working with

him for the last 4 years and he is very capable, very enthusiastic, very hard working and very loyal per-

son who will do his very best for the Society. I shall be observing from the sidelines and cheering for the

NSSA as it goes from strength to strength.

In the meantime, enjoy your braais, pap en vleis, warm weather, biltong, rugby (even die Bulle....),

things which I took for granted in SA and which I cannot find easily in the USA.

Best wishes

Shaun

Page 3 Volume 59Volume 59

...President’s Message ...President’s Message

We wish Shaun everything of the best in the Good old U.S.A.

The elected Executive Body for 2014-2017 is MC Pretorius, Driekie Fourie, Jeannie van Biljon, Caroline

Mouton, Prabashnie Ramouthar and Mieke Daneel.

Prabashnie is already busy planning our local symposium to be held in KwaZulu-Natal during May

2017. We will keep you informed of the progress and you are welcome to send suggestions to the EB.

We advise members to participate and send any relevant news/information to us in order to keep our

website alive, and also to participate in the Newsletter. Currently Rinus Knoetze will assist with the

website (www.sanematodes.com), and Jeannie van Biljon with the Newsletter. We want to thank them

too for their efforts in this regard and please assist them by providing them with information etc. any-

time.

The newly elected EB will hold their first meeting soon where new initiatives and ideas will be dis-

cussed. We will keep you informed with regards to planned workshops and other activities through our

secretary/treasurer and we extend our invitation to you all to please participate and by doing so

strengthen our field of Nematology.

I wish you all the best for the remainder of this year together with lots of success and blessings with

your work and research!

Kind regards

MC Pretorius

President NSSA

Page 4 Volume 59Volume 59

...President’s Message ...President’s Message

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are

one.

Khalil Gibran

EulogyEulogy

Prof Alexander Henrique Mc Donald†, our colleague and friend, sadly passed away on 8 October 2014

at the age of 56. His unconditional love and commitment towards his family, friends and colleagues dur-

ing his time on earth were remarkable.

Alex studied BSc, both for graduate and post graduate courses, at the North-West University (NWU;

Potchefstroom Campus) with Zoology and Botany as his major subjects. During his post graduate stud-

ies, he acted as a demonstrator for graduate students and also as a part time lecturer. After he ob-

tained the MSc degree in Zoology, he was employed by the Department of Agriculture in 1983 where

he worked as Agricultural Researcher under the mentorship of Prof Dirk De Waele who at that stage

was the Head of Nematology. After Prof De Waele’s return to Belgium, Prof Alex headed the Nematol-

ogy Unit until 2008 and was then promoted to the position of Programme Manager of the Crop Protec-

tion Department of the Agricultural Research Council’s Grain Crops Institute. In this position Alex lead

numerous researchers, technicians and assistants that worked in the Entomology Nematology and

Plant Pathology units to contribute to the successes of the department. At that stage Alex also initiated

the establishment of maize and sorghum resistance breeding programmes. Another valuable contribu-

tion made by Alex during the mid 2000s includes the establishment of a formal collaboration between

the ARC-GCI and the North-West University, namely the Initiative for the Development of Expertise in

Plant Protection (IDEPP). Furthermore, he also acted as the Principal Investigator (South African side)

of a joint VLIR project with the Leuven University with Prof Dirk De Waele as the Belgium Principal In-

vestigator. Alex was during this time appointed as an Extraordinary Professor by the NWU’s Unit for

Environmental Sciences and Management and promoted to Associated Professor when he joined the

NWU in 2010. Alex acted as study leader/co study leader and mentor of numerous MSc and PhD stu-

dents and during his career published numerous articles as well as some chapters in peer-reviewed

journals and books. He also served the Nematological Society of Southern Africa by acting as the

President from 1997 to 2007. In terms of nematology training, Alex joined the late Prof Don Loots to

organise several Nematology Short Courses that were presented at the NWU since 1982.

Alex was a special person who had a peculiar way of expressing humor and enjoyed good jokes tre-

mendously. Since Alex was involved in a serious car accident in 1989 he, however, suffered ill health.

Page 5 Volume 59Volume 59

“As is our confidence, so is our

capacity” - Willliam Hazlitt

The way he handled his illness, persevered and believed especially during the past few difficult months

will always be treasured by his loved ones, friends and colleagues. He is particularly remembered for

his extra-ordinary way of thinking. Also, the way he approached and pursued research questions as a

renowned and expert Nematologist was eccentric. Although Prof Alex’s demise leaves a gap in the lives

of the ones he left behind and is a loss for the research fraternity, his legacy will persist.

Driekie Fourie, NWU

After Anneke lost her baby girl in May 2013, she finally fell pregnant again in 2014. Her healthy baby

boy, Keennan, was born on the 21st of January 2015. We are so pleased with this joyful news, con-

gratulations Anneke and Adriaan!

Unfortunately, we were left with the difficult decision of either moving or closing the Caledon lab. After

careful consideration and exploring all possible opportunities we decided to close the lab. We would like

to thank Anneke for her 7 years of hard work, loyalty and friendship. You will be missed.

We would also like to thank all our clients who sent their samples to the Caledon lab, we appreciate

your support.

At the moment we are very busy processing mostly grape samples. We are so thankful for the loyal

support of our community. So therefore…back to work!

Caroline Mouton

Nemconsult, Upington, Northern Cape

Page 6 Volume 59Volume 59

...Eulogy...Eulogy

Nemconsult, UpingtonNemconsult, Upington

The nematode group from Stellenbosch University are proud to introduce two new students, Thomas

Platt and Annika Pieterse.

Annika is undertaking her MSc degree under the supervision of Dr’s Jenna Ross and Antoinette Malan.

The title of the project is: Discovering an indigenous

nematode to control invasive slug and snail species in

South Africa. The project involves locating various inva-

sive slug species in the Western Cape and any nema-

todes associated with these slugs. Invasive slug and

snail species has become an important pest of crops in

South Africa. Because of the risks involved with using

chemical control, there is a great need to find a biologi-

cal control method which is both effective and does not

have a negative influence on the environment. The aim

of this project is to find and an indigenous nematode

which kills invasive slug and snail species so that it can

eventually be mass produced.

Annika Pieterse

Tom joins us all the way from the UK where he did a BSc in Ecology and worked as a study director

and registration manager. He is embarking on his MSc degree under the supervision of Nomakholwa

Stokwe and Dr. Antoinette Malan, continuing the work started by Patrique Le Vieux. The title of the pro-

ject is “Foliar application of entomopathogenic nematodes for the control vine mealybug, (Planococcus

ficus) in vineyards. The grapevine mealybug (Planococcus ficus) is an especially damaging pest of

grapevines, as it not only causes damage but also serves as a vector for plant diseases. Chemical con-

trol of these pests is difficult; their cryptic lifestyle makes successful application of pesticide difficult and

their waxy secretions protect against pesticidal effects. EPNs, specifically of the families Steinernemati-

dae and Heterorhabitidae, will actively seek their prey and have been proven to be effective against

grapevine mealybugs in the lab.

Stellenbosch groupStellenbosch group

Page 7 Volume 59Volume 59

Pat's work established the potential for use of Stein-

ernema and Heterorhabditis against mealybugs in the

soil, which is useful for the winter months. However in

warmer months P.ficus travels from colonies in the

ground and on the base of the vine, shifting to areas

further up the plant, beginning with colonies on new

buds and shoots, then leaves, until they are consuming

full foliage. At this point, ground-based treatments are

redundant and a new approach is required. Controlling

pests using EPNs on foliage and stems is tricky in

South Africa, due to high temperatures and low humid-

ity, which can cause desiccation in EPNs. Toms’ re-

search will be investigating methods of applying EPNs

aerially so as to control the vine mealybug while avoid-

ing these problems.

Thomas Platt

Caro Kapp

Stellenbosch

Page 8 Volume 59Volume 59

...Stellenbosch group...Stellenbosch group

Education is the most powerful weapon which you

can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

We recently had a launch for NemaBio, our

new sister company. NemaBio will be con-

ducting research on the use of EPNs as bio-

logical control agents. Our aim is to get a

formulated product on the market that can

be commercially applied by producers in the

deciduous fruit and wine grape industries.

On another note, Nemlab has been very busy with meetings and presentation for farmers in the Canola

and Wheat production areas where we see a definite increase in the interest toward sustainable farm-

ing and soil health.

Page 9 Volume 59Volume 59

New leaps for NemlabNew leaps for Nemlab

From left to right: Dr. Tia Ferreira, she will be heading this project, Sheila

Storey, Director of Nemlab, Dr. Matthew Addison, HORTGRO Science Crop

Protection Manager, Dr. Antoinette Malan, from Stellenbosch University.

There is no such thing as a special category of science called

applied science; there is science and its applications, which are

related to one another as the fruit is related to the tree that

has borne it.

— Louis Pasteur

6th International Congress of Nematology – A roar-

ing success!

The 6th International Congress of Nematology, an event organized only every six years was organized

by the Nematology Society of Southern Africa (NSSA) under the auspices of the International Federa-

tion of Nematology Societies (IFNS) in Cape Town.

The theme of the 6th ICN was “Ensuring the future of Nematology by encouraging student participation,

relying on experience and empowering developing nations to ensure global food security” and part of

the drive of the organizing committee was to ensure student participation by sponsoring students to at-

tend the congress. The other aim was to enable sharing of knowledge and experience in an environ-

ment where everyone could benefit.

The 6th ICN was attended by 450 delegates from 38 countries with around 100 students attending. And

our greatest achievement was the sponsoring of 56 students, fully or partially. Our goal, which in the

initial stages seemed a bit far-fetched, was to get 50 students sponsored. However, we exceeded the

goal and made it possible for 56 students to attend this event.

The program consisted of 212 oral and 198 poster presentations. We had four concurrent sessions af-

ter a daily plenary sessions. The sessions consisted of 14 themes with each having 2 or 3 sessions.

The talks were of high quality, informative and very inspiring. We had 12 guest speakers throughout the

conference covering the most important aspects of nematology. All of the guest speakers did an excel-

lent job in providing inspiring presentations. Besides the oral presentations, three posters sessions

were scheduled during the conference period. It included also four official workshop of which one was

handled by Bayer, our lead sponsor. We also had a student poster and paper competition. The poster

competition is an initiative of ONTA and a lot of effort was put into this competition. The organizing com-

mittee than decided to include a student paper competition as well since this would give all the students

a chance to take part in the competition. This was gladly accepted by the students and most of the stu-

dents took part.

We had a bronze, silver and gold medal for the posters while for the papers we had a bronze, two silver

and a gold medal. One of the silver medals went to Gerhard du Preez of NWU (a MSc student of Drie-

kie Fourie).

Page 10 Volume 59Volume 59

...6th International Congress of Nematology – A roar-

ing success!

Besides the scientific program there was time to engage with each other over tea times, lunches, field

excursion, gala dinner or late at night at the bar. The gala dinner was superb. Great food, great atmos-

phere, great music, lovely girls and stunning band afterwards. We were chased away at midnight…

I would like to thank my committee, collaborators, chairs, co-chairs and sponsors for their extraordinary

efforts to make the 6th ICN possible. There were so many people to thank but I would like to thank Rosa

Manzanilla-Lopez, IFNS Vice-President and Wifrieda Decraemer, IFNS President for their considerable

efforts with the scientific program. The scientific program committee, the student participation commit-

tee, the sponsorship committee and the arrangement committee as they all went beyond their best.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the sponsors and express our gratitude to make this event a

roaring success.

The sponsors were:: Bayer, Syngenta, BASF, Arysta LifeScience, Monsanto, Adama, Dow Agro-

Sciences, Western Cape Government, DuPont, Soiltech, Chemtura, Microbiolal Solutions, Marrone Bio

Innovations, e-nema, Villa Crop Protection, Philagro and Joordens Zaden.

Mieke Daneel

Page 11 Volume 59Volume 59

Moments before and Moments before and

during the 6th ICN during the 6th ICN

Page 12 Volume 59Volume 59

...Moments before ...Moments before

and during the 6th ICN and during the 6th ICN

Page 13 Volume 59Volume 59

...Moments before ...Moments before

and during the 6th ICN and during the 6th ICN

Page 14 Volume 59Volume 59

Last May I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in the 6th International Congress of

Nematology in Cape Town, South Africa. Once again the International Federation of Nematology Socie-

ties organized and hosted an outstanding conference. Like the others I have attended, 6th ICN was a

genuinely positive and worthwhile experience. However, even more so than in prior conferences, 6th ICN

seemed to me to be infused with an invigorating camaraderie and underlying feeling of optimism, in addi-

tion to all the new science one expects at these events. I attribute much of this undercurrent to the

theme that the Organizing Committee selected for the 6th ICN: 'Ensuring the future of Nematology by en-

couraging student participation, relying on experience and empowering developing nations to ensure

global food security'. Comprised of IFNS President Wilfrida Decraemer, Vice President Rosa Manzanilla-

Lopez, and Local Organizing Committee Chair Mieke Daneel, the Organizing Committee achieved its

goal of sponsoring 56 students to attend the congress. As part of this effort, SON's Haddish Melakeber-

han, a member of the seven-person IFNS Sponsorship Committee, worked with the SON Industry Com-

mittee to secure $28,000 from Dow AgroSciences, Makhteshim Agan, and Monsanto that helped support

23 graduate student and post-doc attendees from Asia, Europe, and North America. Independently, the

N.A. Cobb Foundation presented enhanced $1,000 travel awards to three additional graduate students:

Wei Li, Arsenio Ndeve, and Nathan Reddin.

The congress began May 4 with an evening reception, followed by four days of intense oral and poster

presentations addressing every imaginable aspect of plant, soil, and entomopathogenic nematology re-

search, education, regulation, and management. Each day began with a general session where three

invited speakers presented 30-minute addresses on different topics related to the theme of 6thICN. The

remainder of each day was devoted to four concurrent sessions where invited speakers gave 15 or 20

minute presentations on symposium topics such as: Morphology, Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Classifica-

tion; Crop Protection; Entomopathogenic Nematodes; Chemical Control; Nematode Biodiversity; Genom-

ics and Plant-Nematode Interactions; Biological Control of Nematodes/Biopesticides; Future of Nematol-

ogy, Education, and Training; and Nematodes and Soil Health . to list a few! Special workshops were

also held on: Hoplolaimidae and Pratylenchidae; Cyst nematodes; and Root-knot nematode host

races. Mid-week, a fifth day was devoted to agricultural tours that allowed attendees to visit: 1) potato

production along the South African west coast; 2) apple production in the Elgin and Grabou region; 3)

vineyard production in South Africa's wine region near Stellenbosch; or for those less agriculturally-

inclined, 4) a tour of the Cape Peninsula where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet (complete with a

stop at a Jackass Penguin[Spheniscus demersus] colony).

Reflections and thoughts regarding the 6th ICN

Page 15 Volume 59Volume 59

My final thoughts are in regard to the demographics of 6thICN attendees. I am not sure what the total

participant count ended up as, but around 430 individuals were pre-registered, of which 91% were from

four continents; Europe (29%) and Africa (28%) predominated, followed by North America (21%) and

Asia (13%). The number of non-student first-time attendees seemed markedly greater than at previous

congresses, as was of course true for the number of students, for reasons mentioned above. To me

these factors bode very positively for the current and future trajectory of our discipline. I am very grate-

ful to have been able to participate in the 6thICN - despite 29 hours on airplanes to get there!

Steve Thomas

President

Society of Nematologists

...Reflections and thoughts regarding the 6th ICN

Greetings from SASRI

Page 16 Volume 59Volume 59

The year has flown by so quickly. It feels like I (Prabashnie Ramouthar) blinked and it was over. It has

also been a busy year. Lots of trials and lots of new, exciting stuff on the horizon.

The biggest achievement is that the registration trials for a new nematicide in sugarcane are complete

and we received some positive results (see picture). We also have field trials in the ground looking at

other new products, both chemical and biological. Uvendri Pillay did a poster at the South African

Sugar Technologists’ Association conference, looking at the results of a survey completed in the KZN

Midlands North area and describing the concept of nematode com-

munities. Her poster simplified this very complex subject and won a

highly commended prize so well done Uvendri.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ICN and was very grateful to have been a

part of such an amazing event. I felt like a kid in a candy store having

all those learned Nematology minds around me and I learnt so much.

Well done to the organising team, I felt very proudly South African

watching what a grand show you put on for the rest of the world. I’m

sure many of them left with great memories. I would also like to ex-

press my gratitude for the confidence you have in me to lead the

team that will organise the next NSSA symposium in 2017. We look

forward to welcoming you to KZN and already have some wonderful

ideas.

It is always good to send news from our side and to hear what every-

body else is up to. So I am definitely looking forward to reading the

next newsletter. I hope everybody has a wonderful year ahead.

Prabashnie

Cane from the untreated control (left) and treated (right)

with the new nematicide we are looking to resister. Can you

spot the difference?

EPN workshop in Stellenbosch

Page 17 Volume 59Volume 59

A workshop was organized in Stellenbosch to discuss issues of importation of exotic Entomopatho-

genic nematodes (EPN) against the use of endemic ones. This workshop was organized back to back

with the annual soil-borne working group meeting. The NSSA normally organizes a workshop on the

Tuesday afternoon and we decided to use this opportunity and have a day-long workshop on EPN’s

to discuss some of the issues mentioned above.

The workshop was attended by 54 people from further than just the Western Cape region. The office

of the registrar was present and Mr Thilivhali Nepfumbada (Office of the registrar) presented a talk on

Act 36 of 19746 and registration of biologicals. Other presentations discussed importation of biologi-

cals into South Africa by Philip Ivey (SANBI) and industry adoption and use of EPN’s by Matthew Ad-

dison (Hortgro). Jenna Ross discussed the successful use of indigenous nematodes to control slugs

and snails in South Africa. Tia Ferreira gave an interesting talk on local EPN production, a project

funded by TIA. River Bioscience and BASF were represented and gave an inside of their findings and

products and the work done so far. Afterwards we had a discussion on the advantages of the foreign

isolates and the local isolates and the availability of EPN’s for commercial purposes. Clearly people

have different goals and ideas and the department of Agriculture has allowed importation of exotic

species. And the producers are in dire need of biologicals for the control of pest and diseases.

However, it is important to conduct a survey in South Africa to determine the species complex in our

country. This will broaden our knowledge and will allow us to determine what is present in our soil.

Also it is important to breed local EPN’s on a commercial scale ensuring that local EPN’s can be used

by the producers. Both of these projects have started now and when the next workshop is held these

results can be discussed.

The step between practical and theoretic science, is the step

between the miner and the geologist, the apocathecary and

the chemist.

— John Ruskin

ARC institute for Tropical and Subtropical fruits

Page 18 Volume 59Volume 59

Some news from Nelspruit. Willem Steyn has started a D-Tech at the Tswane University of Technol-

ogy under Dr Retha Slabbert, with the aim being to determine the potential of EPN’s for the control of

false codling moth in the subtropical fruit industry. The crops include litchi, macadamia, avocado and

mango. Samples will be collected in all the production areas which include Mpumalanga, Limpopo

and Kwazulu/Natal provinces. Antoinette Malan is the fundi on EPN’s and she will do the identification

of the species. Thus far 3 species have been isolated and identified and one new species was found.

The next step will be to investigate the potential of several of the EPN’s as biological control agents in

the laboratory and semi field trials.

Grace Tefu is registering for her PhD at North West University (Potchefstroom campus) under Prof

Driekie Fourie. Her study will investigate the potential of organic amendments for the control of nema-

todes. The focus of the organic amendments will be fruit produce including juice, powder and oil as

she had excellent results in glass house experiments with these products. Also in our area, many of

cut fruit is available to put back in the soil.

The ARC has a Professional Development Program (PDP) and with that program MSc and PhD stu-

dents were given the opportunity to apply for a scholarship from the ARC. We have appointed two

students in Nematology, Mr Akhona Mbatyoti and Mr Gerhard du Preez. Mr Mbatyoti will try to finish

his PhD this year while Mr du Preez has just started his PhD study. Both are registered at NWU under

Prof Driekie Fourie.

Dr Khosa is busy identifying the active ingredient in the two bionematicides that he used for his bioas-

say studies.

And myself? I am keeping busy by trying to stay out of trouble with all of the above as well as with

workshops and visits etc.

Page 19 Volume 59 Volume 59Volume 59

In October Patrice Cadet visited the institute and we held a workshop on ADE-4 which was attended by

several of my colleagues and Driekie and Nancy from Potch. In between all the focussing and listening,

we had quite a lot of fun. Luckily we can repeat the workshop when Patrice is back here in May. There

is indeed so much we can do with the multivariate analysis and so little we do with it.

Mieke Daneel

There was a lot of changes in the Nematology Unit of ARC-GCI. We had to bid farewell to Rita

Jantjies, our lab assistant, who worked for close to thirty years in the nematology lab. She had

to go on early retirement because of some health issues. She will be missed because not only

was she our lab assistant, she was also a friend that could make you laugh even under less

than good conditions. However, we’ve welcomed someone new in our midst that took Rita’s

place in the lab. Edith du Rand worked at the North-West University for a while before she got

her permanent appointment with us. Edith is a real asset to nematology and we wish her many

happy years here with us. Workwise we’re firing on all cylinders and are happy to report that all

is going well at ARC-GCI.

Sonia Steenkamp

…ARC institute for Tropical and Subtropical fruits

News from ARC-Grain Crops Institute

Page 20 Volume 59 Volume 59Volume 59

Exciting research and training opportunities are exploited by members of the Nematology Unit of the

Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management of the NWU. Although our spirits are low as a result

of the demise of our colleague Prof Alex Mc Donald, we aim to let his legacy stay alive through our re-

search and training efforts.

The highlight of this year will be the Nematology Short Course that will be hosted from 15 to 25 Sep-

tember 2015. A wide range of topics will be presented during this basic but extensive course by various

experts such as Prof Dirk de Waele (Leuven University), Dr Antoinette Malan (US), Drs Antoinette

Swart and Mariette Marais (ARC-PPRI), Dr Mieke Daneel (ARC-ITSC), Ms Jeannie van Biljon (retired

Nematologist), Ms Suria Bekker (PhD student) and Prof Driekie Fourie. Information on the cost of the

course is included elsewhere in the newsletter.

In terms of research, 3 PhD students (Akhona Mbatyoti, Suria Bekker and Nancy Ntidi) as well as 3

MSc students (Marthinus Pretorius, Melissa Agenbag and Maretha Pretorius) will this year submit their

theses/dissertations for evaluation. Honours students studying at the NWU include 1 full-time (Karla-

Mart Beyers) and 3 part-time students (Ado Shubane, Siphiwe Khutzwayo and Tinyiko Chauke). An-

other Honours student Frank Fourie will try to isolate entomopathogenic nematodes from samples ob-

tained in clinic gardens around Potchefstroom for his study related to Botany. This initiative is done in

collaboration with Dr Malan (US).

During 2015, Chantelle and Gerhard finalised their MSc studies at the NWU. Gerhard recently applied

for a Tia Seeding Grant that was successful and he will investigate the efficacy of a more cost-effective

patented system that can be utilized to extract selected metals from water that are used for agricultural

purposes. The study will ultimately focus on nematodes as bio-indicators of such contaminated water

sources. The patent was developed by chemists at the NWU. Furthermore, three PhD students of the

NWU’s Nematology Unit, Gerhard du Preez , Akhona Mbatyoti and Chantelle Jansen were granted

PDP internships by die Agricultural Research Council. Gerhard and Akhona are as from February 2015

Nematology research and training at the NWU, Potchefstroom Campus

Page 21 Volume 59 Volume 59Volume 59

under the supervision of Dr Mieke Daneel (ARC-ITSC) as their mentor, while Chantelle will be sta-

tioned at the ARC-PPRI under the mentorship of Drs Antoinette Swart and Mariette Marais. The col-

laboration with the ARC is valued and we look forward to future projects that the NWU and ARC will

be involved in through student’s projects and training initiatives.

In terms of overseas visits, Prof Driekie and Melissa will attend the 2015 IPPC congress from 24 to 27

August in Berlin (Germany), while Prof Driekie and Akhona will attend the SON Meeting from 19 to 24

July in Michigan (US). Melissa will present a paper/poster titled: “Identification and pathogenicity of

South African Meloidogyne species”, which contains information that emanates from collaborations

between various local nematologists to exploit the identification of root-knot nematode species that

occur in local agri- and horticultural soils. Driekie will present work related to Marthinus’ MSc project

titled “Exploiting the integrity and effects of a soil-derived biological culture against nematode pests”.

The latter research is funded by the Maize Trust and is done in collaboration with personnel of the

ARC’s Grain Crops Institute (Potchefstroom) as well as the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. An-

other overseas trip will be undertaken by Gerhard du Preez who will attend the Symposium for Euro-

pean Freshwater Sciences from 5 to 10 July 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. He will present research

related to his MSc study with the topic “The use of nematodes as bioindicators of metal pollution in the

Wonderfontein Cave (Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa)”.

Another exciting initiative that is currently receiving priority is that Profs Driekie Fourie and Prof Dirk de

Waele as well as Drs Robin Jones, Vaughan Spaull and Mieke Daneel are aiming to finalise the com-

pilation of a nematology book that has been initiated in 2009. The aim is to have the book print ready

by the end of 2015.

Driekie Fourie

….Nematology research and training at the NWU, Potchefstroom Campus

Page 22 Volume 59 Volume 59Volume 59

Nematology Short Course 2015Where: North-West University, South Africa(Potchefstroom Campus)

When: 15 to 25 September 2015

Contact persons for more information & details: Driekie Fourie (driekie.fourie@nwu.ac.za)Helena Strydom (helena.strydom@nwu.ac.za)

Limited number of places available

Tuition fee: ZAR 16 000 (VAT, air tickets to and from venue, accommodation, breakfast, lunch excluded)

Executive Executive CommitteeCommittee

20152015--20172017

President: Mr MC Pretorius

Vice President: Prof. Driekie Fourie

Secretary/Treasurer: Dr Sonia Steenkamp

Additional member: Ms Caroline Mouton

Newsletter editor: Ms Jeannie van Biljon

Symposium Organiser: Ms. Prabashnie Ramouthar

Nematological Society of Southern Africa

Contact us:

MC Pretorius: mc@cri.co.za

Driekie: Driekie.fourie@nwu.ac.za

Mieke: mieke@arc.agric.za

Sonia: SteenkampS@arc.agric.za

Jeannie: vanbiljon.elizabeth@gmail.com

Caroline: Caroline@nemconsult.co.za

Prabashnie: Prabashnie.Ramouthar@sugar.org.za

We’re on the web:

www.sanematodes.com

Volume 58

IFNS representative: Dr Mieke Daneel