Dr P.S. (Schalk) van Wyk

My association with Dr Schalk van Wyk grew naturally out of my early interest in Fusarium. My Honours project was already focused on Fusarium, and this subsequently developed into an MSc project under Schalk at the University of the Free State.

I started the MSc while Schalk was still at UFS, but life then intervened. I had to complete my compulsory Defence Force service, and in 1987 I started my professional career in Potchefstroom.

By then Schalk had also taken a rather unexpected turn. He had left academia and, of all things, started a butchery in the nearby town of Viljoenskroon.

This resulted in what must have been a fairly unusual arrangement for completing a Master's degree in plant pathology. I vividly remember finishing work in Potchefstroom and driving to Viljoenskroon, where Schalk and I would sit and discuss the progress and finalisation of my Fusarium MSc project — in his butchery.

Academic supervision there came with an additional requirement: I invariably had to test and taste Schalk's newest steaks, biltong and droëwors. Looking back, I suspect very few Master's theses on Fusarium have been completed under quite those circumstances!

It was also very typical of Schalk. He was an interesting and unconventional character with an exceptionally sharp, practical mind. He was always thinking, always coming up with another plan or a different way of approaching a problem. If something didn't work one way, Schalk would find another.

When I think of him scientifically, however, I immediately think of what I regard as the Fusarium circle. He was part of a remarkable community of South African scientists associated with these fungi. Names such as Prof. Wally Marasas, Dr Sandra Lamprecht, Rupert Anelich, Neil Theron and Dr Oene Los, among others, come to mind. Many of them crossed my own path and will feature individually elsewhere in The Robigalia Circle.

Through Schalk and this wider group, I learnt that science seldom develops in isolation. It grows through people sharing cultures and observations, debating identifications, questioning results and helping one another solve problems.

My years working with Schalk took me deeper into fungal plant pathology and strengthened something that would remain central throughout my career: the combination of field observation, laboratory investigation, identification and practical problem-solving.

Interestingly, the SASPP tribute published after his death remembered many of the same qualities that I remember so clearly — his curiosity, pragmatism, lateral thinking and ability to find solutions.

Dr P.S. (Schalk) van Wyk was born on 1 April 1944 and passed away on 12 June 2025, aged 81.

More than anything, however, I remember Schalk the man: sharp, inventive, practical and never short of a new idea.

And whenever I think back to completing that MSc, I cannot separate the science of Fusarium from those after-work drives to Viljoenskroon, discussions in a butchery, and the inevitable tasting of another batch of steak, biltong or droëwors.

Schalk taught me a great deal about Fusarium and plant pathology — but perhaps even more about finding practical solutions wherever you happen to find yourself.

He holds a very special place in The Robigalia Circle.

Dr P.S. (Schalk) van Wyk: 1 April 1944 – 12 June 2025