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nickycreux.bsky.social
NickyCreux
@nickycreux.bsky.social
140 followers 200 following 65 posts
I am a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria in FABI. Post and opinions are my own. We study crop flowers and their response to the environment.
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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
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
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
nickycreux.bsky.social
The AgriHub and North West University is a fantastic idea! Had good fun one out field tour yesterday! #NGRP25
Me in my ARC (Agricultural Research Council) hat and black FABI shirt with green writing. With a beautiful blue sky, white fluffy clouds and a sunflower planting in the background. Image with corn, sunflower and soy test plots on the right and a large sunflower field in the distance with a low hill behind it and bluesky with puffy clouds. Pretty soy planting between two maize plots with trucks and cars in the back ground. Blue sky's above. Group photo of the FABI team at the National Grain Research Symposium. 13 people with 7 PIs and 6 MSc or PhD students. Maize and sunflower plantings in the background. Bless sky and puffy white clouds overhead.
March 20, 2025 at 4:20 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Beyond proud watching final year PhD student, Ofentse Mathibela, presenting her high throughput plant phenotyping work at our annual National Grain Research Symposium. She spoke with power and confidence 😊.
#phenospexFieldScan #NGRP2025
Student presenting her work on a national platform. She is positioned left of the screen in a white shirt in front of a large venue. Closer image of PhD Student presenting her work on a national platform. She is positioned left of the screen in a white shirt in front of a large venue. Her first major invited talk.
March 19, 2025 at 7:35 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Big funding reports due this week! 😬 ... and our power didn't restore after loadshedding last night 😶... never a dull moment in this place! Thank goodness for inverters and gas stoves!
Blue kettle with a wire handle on a gas stove.
February 25, 2025 at 3:42 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
I did not have "PhD student nearly gets detained by campus security for taking sunflower heads out of her field for an experiment" on my bingo card today. 🤣 it was easily cleared up and all is fine. I am also greatful security is on the ball as we have lost flowers around valentines day before 🤣
A centered image of a large sunflower bloom in the field in question!
February 13, 2025 at 2:53 PM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Just a quick note to say that on this international day of women and girls in science, I am privileged to work with and mentor some incredible, powerful women!
Collage of photos of students and postdoc in my team. Lage top left is a group photo as we said good bye to our intern. She got a job as a junior soy breeder! Top right my first PhD student defending her thesis. Under that an MSc student showing us her new in field stigma receptivity assay. Bottom right another MSc student taking us through her research flow diagram. Bottom middle is an Intern, myself and our honoyrs BSc student clearing invasive saringas on Mandela day. Bottom left my PhD student and I in China for her first international conference!
February 11, 2025 at 7:48 PM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Our institute had a strategy meeting last week and on Friday we asked our graduate students 2 questions. Describe FABI now and in 10 years time in up to 5 words. It was comforting that research, excellence and community came up the most in both. There is so much to learn from these word clouds...
Word clouded of response to "describe FABI in up to 5 words. Research, excellence and community were most prominent. Then interdisciplinary, Plant health, Innovative, Collaboration. The next level included mentorship, diversity, science, family, inclusive, training, mentorship, quality, food security. Word clouded of describe FABI ten years from now. Fewer wors in common but Research, Excellence, Community remain the most common. Next level included technology, innovation, leading, food security. But signs of the times are present such as uprising, revolution, no water, climate change.
February 3, 2025 at 4:07 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
This Nelumbo nucifera var. caspica (Caspian sea sacred lotus) outside our Department is absolutely breathtaking today! 💜
January 31, 2025 at 11:42 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Monday kicked off the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 2025 honours program. Here the class of 2025 are in a round Robin info session on elective modules. I am excited to watch them grow and find their paths along this journey!
Composit images of small groups of students talking with various lecturers about the different elective modules we offer.
January 23, 2025 at 3:21 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Well, this is definitely not the worst way to close out the year! Paper accepted!
December 28, 2024 at 8:02 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Best way to end the year, approval of a project proposal and budget for a little project to explore anther color in sunflower next year!
Image of a sunflower bloom. Petals go from bright yellow on the outside and about halfway in shift to a light burnt orange steaked with yellow. The center is a dark brown/black with pops of yellow in the center where the pollen is emerging on that days disc floret whorl.
December 14, 2024 at 4:08 AM
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
nickycreux.bsky.social
Cool! My office orchids are working hard to make these ❤
December 10, 2024 at 9:18 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Love this microscopic image an MSc student in the group took of the sunflower bilobed stigma with pollen ❤
An ope sunflower bilobed stigma with pollen accumulated on the outer edges.
December 5, 2024 at 11:22 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Our graduate students are so much fun! I was awarded the PowerPoint perfectionist award at our year end function 🤣... they are not wrong!
A picture of the certificate I recieved at the year end from out students for being the PowerPoint perfectionist in the team. It's signed by all three student lab managers and has our team photo in the background
December 2, 2024 at 11:46 AM
nickycreux.bsky.social
Yes, they only last a few weeks. Our campus is spectacular in the peak season.
University of Pretoria Street lined with Jacarandas in purple bloom. University of Pretoria Street lined with Jacarandas in purple bloom University of Pretoria Street lined with Jacarandas in purple bloom University of Pretoria Street lined with Jacarandas in purple bloom
November 26, 2024 at 12:03 PM
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
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
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
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
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
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