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phrasia.bsky.social
@phrasia.bsky.social
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Guys! I got my NRF rating this week! IYKYK!😁😁😁
May 27, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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teamthomma.bsky.social
Last week, our newest @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social‬ preprint saw the light, led by @wolki95.bsky.social and co-directed by Kathrin Wippel (SILS, Amsterdam): A gnotobiotic system reveals multifunctional effector roles in plant-fungal pathogen dynamics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A gnotobiotic system reveals multifunctional effector roles in plant-fungal pathogen dynamics
Plants host diverse microbiota that influence physiological processes and can enhance resilience against invading pathogens that, in turn, evolved effector proteins to manipulate host microbiota in th...
www.biorxiv.org
April 4, 2025 at 1:59 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Wednesday my first PhD student graduated! She did a beautiful sunflower planting date trial looking at everything from growth and yield to pollination and plant health! Also made the first report of BiMoV on sunflower in South Africa! Our BSc Honours student also graduated! What a happy day!
Selfie of me in the middle and PhD graduated Phrasia Mapfumo on the left in our red and green PhD in natural and Agricultural academic regalia. Right is our BSC honors student thing traditional black and green regalia. All big happy smiles!
May 16, 2025 at 6:53 AM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
It was fun to be out in the field yesterday morning as the team starts wrapping up the trials. I did come to help, but they were on top of it! Such a great team to work with❤
Two team members in the distance helping with maize planting date trial harvest. Down the row brown bags filled with mazi waits to be collected on our iron rich red spoils between two planting dates. Bright blues skies and the Future Africa campus in the distance. Student using thier red car as a makeshift lab as she tests sunflower stigma receptivity in the background. Foreground has the bright yellow sunflower blooms she is testion against a backdrop of bright blue skies and whisky white clouds. Long shot of the final maize planting date with clear blue skies above scattered with a few whisky clouds Sunflower bloom in the field with an orange black and white butterfly sipping nectar.
April 26, 2025 at 8:33 AM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Chatting about doing postgraduate studies with the third years! With Dr Mapfumo @phrasia.bsky.social
Dr Mapfumo and I with our table set up at the Agricultural station, corn cobs in the husks and sunflower seed heads straight out of the field this morning. Posters of our remote sensing work in the background...and my Lego sunflower I got for Christmas! Dr Mapfumo chatting with a student in a blue headscarf about our sunflower research. Sunflower heads and jars if blue sunflower and red corn seeds holding a Lego sunflower in the foreground Dr Mangani talking to a prospective student with green pamphlets, corn in husks and tomatoes in the foreground
April 11, 2025 at 1:54 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
The postdoc (@phrasia.bsky.social) and grad students in our team are fantastic! We had an end of year braai (BBQ) last night and we had so much fun we forgot to take a photo! We laughed very hard at our very African group trying to play a very US centric game of charades 🤣🤣🤣🤣
A picture of my zebra Christmas tree ornament hanging along side all the traditional ornaments on the tree. A South African Christmas!
December 14, 2024 at 3:42 AM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Hi! I have just shown up here. I am a plant biologist at the University of Pretoria working on crop flower biology. We mostly focus on Sunflower and Maize.
Two ornamental sunflowers one on top of the other. Dark centers with ptals fading from orange centers two yellow fringes. Honey bee in the middle of the top flower.
November 17, 2024 at 1:40 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Earlier this year, PhD student (Sizwe Mthembu), myself and an Intern (Nosihle Xulu) worked on optimizing epidermal peels on maize plants. Last night Sizwe won the Best FABI Research Image with one of his epidermal peels!!! Such fun!!
At the FABI year end function and awards ceremony with Sizwe's epidermal peel image displayed on the big screen as the Director with award in hand and the MC of the evening look on as Sizwe makes his way up to the front to claim his prize! Selfish in the field of us after doing some epidermal peels. Blues skies above with Nosihle Xulu (left), myself middle and Sizwe Mthembu (right)!...all smiles. Maize epidermal peels showing epidermal cells and stomata of a maize leaf.
November 23, 2024 at 6:00 AM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Saying farewell to our awesome intern, Nosihle Xulu, she is heading for a junior soy breeder position! So proud!
November 24, 2024 at 1:04 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
The Second Chapter evaluated different sunflower developmental stages response to extream weather events.
Sunflower field in bloom
November 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Her first research chapter was an agronomic look at sunflower planting dates in South Africa over two seasons.
Close up of a sunflower head with seeds exposed.
November 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
And the final chapter was an investigation into to effect of planting date on Sclerotina Head Rot progression, which you can check out here:
bsppjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
In‐field climatic factors driving Sclerotinia head rot progression across different sunflower planting dates
Local temperature and humidity at different planting dates significantly influence Sclerotinia head rot in sunflower, with temperatures above 27°C suppressing disease progression in the flower head.
bsppjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
The third chapter surveyed plant health and disease load across planting dates and includes a first report of a viral sunflower disease in South Africa (under review)
November 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM
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nickycreux.bsky.social
Big news today! My first PhD student did her Prestige seminar today. This powerful lady started her PhD 2 months before COVID lockdown with a brand new PI. Somehow we muddle through this together! Her awesome PhD was a two season two location Sunflower planting date trial.
Newly minted Dr Mapfumo holding her FABI certificate, a bunch of sunflowers and a few gift bags. Me in my sunflower top and a glass of bubbles! A chalk board at the celebration saying "Congratulations Dr Mapfumo" Phrasia Mapfumo doing her final PhD presentation. Standing at the lectern in a beautiful shweshwe dress and looking completely relaxed and in command!
November 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM