February 20, 2023

From February 6th to 11th, the long-awaited visit of Dr. Michael Wingfield finally took place. This visit was part of a completed ANII project that the SPF had submitted in 2019 in conjunction with the Faculty of Agronomy. The project’s objective was to study the sudden death of Eucalyptus smithii.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Wingfield’s visit could not take place. However, at the end of 2022, the SPF applied for a new funding mechanism offered by ANII to partially finance the visit and consultancy. Dr. Wingfield is the founding director and advisor of the Agricultural and Forestry Biotechnology Institute (FABI) in Pretoria, South Africa. His research focuses on forest health in plantations and natural forest ecosystems, with a particular emphasis on diseases caused by insect-borne pathogens. He served as president of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) for five years and has been widely recognized for his research and academic leadership, not only in South Africa—his native country—but also internationally.

The main issues for which SPF required the South African expert’s consultation were:

The problem of sudden death in E. smithii in the early stages of rotation

The complex of beetles that attack the trunks of pines and eucalyptus trees

Dr. Wingfield’s visit was used to familiarize him with the institutional framework of forest health in Uruguay, giving him a perspective on the participation of public, private and academic actors who interact in alliances and agreements (Cecope, Forest Consortium, CAR) in pursuit of the health of Uruguay’s commercial forests.

The consultancy combined classroom sessions with field trips. The tour began in Montevideo, traveling southeast (Lavalleja and Florida) and then north to the department of Tacuarembó, before returning to Montevideo. Participants included technicians and directors from forestry companies, as well as researchers from various institutions.

INIA and UdelaR, as well as technicians from MGAP and LATU.

 

It was an intense week, with oppressive heat, but absolutely enjoyable and productive. Without a doubt, the SPF will find in this consultancy a wealth of answers and action plans to follow to improve the performance of the plantations at a general level, but also specifically regarding the sudden death of E. smithii and the bark beetle and ambrosia beetle complex.