The Southern African Society for Plant Pathology : 1962–2020

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.