Sascha Lynn Beck-Pay

• PhD
• Research Associate at University of KwaZulu-Natal

The final stage of the commercial propagation of avocado ( Persea americana ) plants, requires plants to be replanted in larger bags for a growing out period, prior to being dispatched. The use of drench treatments of Afrikelp™ LG 1, a biostimulant extracted from the South African kelp Ecklonia maxima , on newly replanted clonal avocado (Hass on cl...

Citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) is a drought-tolerant cucurbit crop widely grown in sub-Saharan Africa in arid and semi-arid environments. The species is a C3 xerophyte used for multiple purposes, including intercropping with maize, and has a deep taproot system. The deep taproot system plays a key role in the species' adaptati...

Citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) is an extremely drought-tolerant cucurbit crop widely grown in sub-Saharan Africa in arid and semi-arid environments characterized by drought. The species is a C3 xerophyte used for multiple purposes, including intercropping with maize and has a deep taproot system. The deep taproot system plays...

Acacia mearnsii is a commercial forestry tree in South Africa, largely grown from open-pollinated seeds. Clonal deployment of superior selections of the species is restricted due to its poor rooting ability. The effects of conditioning parent hedge-plants under three levels of reduced light (80% black; 60% red and 40% black/ white shadenet) were in...

Rooting media were evaluated to identify problems contributing to poor rooting. Seven media combinations of coir and perlite were investigated, including two sources of coir (‘CG’ and ‘GS’). Final rooting results showed that the 2:1 (‘CG’ coir: perlite), with or without Osmocote® Start, and the 50:50 (‘GS’ coir: perlite) medium supported the best r...

Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) is grown commercially in South Africa for its timber and bark. However, the invasive nature of the species has resulted in it being considered an alien invader and for this reason research has been aimed at producing a sterile triploid variety that would be highly desirable for the South African commercial forestry in...

Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) is a commercially important forestry species in South Africa, grown for its timber and bark. Due to its invasiveness, it is also considered be an alien invader species and for this reason the production of a sterile triploid variety would be highly desirable for South African commercial forestry. Previous research on...

A study of the reproductive biology of black wattle (Acacia mearnsii de Wild) was conducted, specifically with regard to the compatibility of the diploid × tetraploid cross to produce a triploid variety, together with identifying ways of increasing triploid seed production. Fluorescent microscopy was used to determine pollination and fertilisation...

Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) is a commercially important forestry species in South Africa, grown for its timber as well as its bark. It is, however, also considered to be an alien invader of indigenous vegetation and for this reason the production of a sterile variety would be highly desirable for commercial forestry in South Africa. Previous res...

Black wattle (Acacia mearnsii de Wild) is a commercially important forestry species in South Africa, however, being an exotic it is also seen as an invader of indigenous vegetation. Research into producing a sterile variety is underway and one such route being explored is the production of a polyploidy. Within this research it is critical to have r...

The surface sterilisation procedure is of integral importance to any micropropagation technique. This process should do the least amount of plant damage, whilst reducing microbial contamination to an acceptable level. The objective of this research was to investigate alternative sterilisation agents to the dangerous chemical mercuric chloride (HgCl...

The invasiveness of black wattle Acacia mearnsii) in South Africa has created a need to investigate ways to reduce seed production. The Institute for Commercial Forestry Research is investigating polyploidy production with the view to inducing reduced fertility. Accurate, reliable and affordable identification of ploidy level is necessary. An effec...

Gamma irradiation of black wattle seed was tested to induce sterility in order to curb the spread of black wattle outside plantation boundaries. Initially, percentage germination (incubator and nursery), average root length after three days, seedling height at 30 days for treatments 0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500...

Black wattle (Acacia mearnsii), a commercially grown forestry tree in South Africa, is now grown primarily for its pulping properties. However, black wattle is also considered an invader species of indigenous vegetation. Currently gamma irradiation techniques are being investigated as a means of producing a sterile or seedless variety. Various envi...

Recent research has shown, Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) to be a source of high quality pulp. This led to a change in the emphasis in the breeding programme at the Institute for Commercial Forestry Research, from improving bark yield and quality, to improving timber yield and quality while maintaining an acceptable bark quality. A Multiple Populat...

Three assays, namely stomatal length measurements, counts of chloroplast numbers within the stomatal guard cells and flow cytometry, were used to confirm the ploidy of three diploid and three tetraploid Acacia mearnsii lines. The first two methods have previously been successful in identifying ploidy in this species, but they are indirect assessmen...

The black wattle, Acacia mearnsii, an important commercially grown tree in South Africa, is considered one of the top alien invader species within indigenous vegetation because of its abundant seed production and dispersal. One of the aims at the Institute for Commercial Forestry Research (ICFR) is to restrict the spread of wattle outside plantatio...

The arrangements of chloroplasts and numbers within the stoma were examined as a rapid indirect technique for the identification ofploidy level in blackwattle (Acacia mearnsii de Wild). Chloroplast counts were made from stomatal guard cells from leaves of known diploid (2n=2x=26) and tetraploid (2n=4x=52) plants grown under nursery conditions. Thre...

The length and frequency of stomata on leaf surfaces were examined as rapid techniques for future identification of ploidy level of Acacia mearnsii (de Wild). Diploid (2n = 2x = 26) and tetraploid (2n = 4x = 52) plants were germinated from chipped seed at 25°C and grown under nursery conditions. After one month, measurements showed that the mean st...

The genus Acacia comprises many species which are important for firewood. fodder, tannin, pulpwood, shelterbelts, and soil improvement. Species of Acacia are dispersed widely in tropical and subtropical regions of Australia. South America, Asia, and Africa. In the past, the majority of forest trees have been propagated through the traditional famil...

The Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii) is aneconomically important forest tree hence the need forefficient methods of amplification and clonalpropagation of superior trees. To overcome maturationeffects and the number of diseases infecting thewattle, rejuvenated tissue such as apical meristems,can be used. Meristems were taken from 30-day-old in vitro...

Multiple shoots were produced from nodal explants, of 30-day-old in vitro grown seedlings and from pretreated 3- and 9-month-old greenhouse grown Acacia mearnsii plants, respectively. Explants were sterilized using 0.1% and 0.2% HgCl2 for 15 min for 3- and 9-month-old explants, respectively. Nodal explants were induced to form multiple shoots when...

In an attempt to overcome maturation affects and loss of juvenile characteristics, when using adult plant material in vitro, investigations were undertaken into the the use of coppice material, as an alternative. Trees from 5 age groups (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10-years-old, respectively) of Acacia mearnsii were felled to a height of 1.5 m. After 3 weeks, c...