Dr Firehiwot Eshetu

I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the TPCP and Kiwifruit Protection Program (KPP) under the research group of Prof Irene Barnes at the Forestry and Biotechnology Institute (FABI). My research mainly focuses on determining the diversity of fungi associated with Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB). My role in the KPP is to invitro screen different fungicides effective against the Kiwifruit sooty spot pathogen Pseudocercospora spp. This information will be valuable in the management of this pathogen that reduces the production of Kiwifruit in South Africa.

I completed my PhD from the Sirex research team under the main supervision of Prof Bernard Slippers and the co-supervision of Prof. Irene Barnes and Dr Helen Nahrung at the University of the Sunshine Coast Australia. This project investigated the population genetics of the pine tree pest, the invasive woodwasp Sirex noctilio, its symbiotic fungus Amylostereum areolatum, and their biological control agent the nematode Deladenus siricidicola in Australia and New Zealand. The reproduction behavior of genetically different Deladenus strains when feeding onto different A. areolatumstrains have also been investigated for its implication in the nematode mass-rearing program and Sirex biocontrol. The main finding from this project is the discovery of unexpectedly high genetic diversity of the biocontrol nematode D. siricidicola in Australasia that included a novel lineage, lineage D, particularly dominant in Australia. These results have significant implications for improving the Sirex biocontrol program that uses the nematode D. siricidicola for the management of S. noctilio in Pinus plantations in Australasia and beyond.