Abstract:
Scientific societies play an enormously valuable role in promoting important disciplines. This role is perhaps even
greater in countries that are relatively isolated from the rest of the world, such as those in the southern hemisphere,
with no long histories of scientific endeavour nor well-established networks of communication. In this regard,
scientific societies in South Africa are crucially important; in our view, their value is often under-appreciated.
This might also be true for the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP), which has drawn together
and coordinated the activities of plant pathologists for almost 60 years. In so doing, the SASPP has contributed
substantially to the health of plants that sustain agriculture and forestry and food security, and those that constitute
one of the most biodiverse and fascinating flora on earth, the Cape Floristic Region.
