Due to challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic, historical count data from the different sites were used for this week’s report. Except for the grasses in Kimberley, which are based on the actual findings from last week.
Cape Town
The grass counts were low during this sampling period. Tree levels were similarly low and tree types identified were cypress, eucalyptus, olive and white stinkwood. Weed pollen was low and composed of daisy, English Plantain, dandelion, Erica and Parietaria. The mould count was also low with small, but insignificant spikes for Rust spores.
Johannesburg
Mould levels were very low during this sampling period. Pollen levels were low, but grass counts are increasing. Tree pollen was low and consisted of the types: bush willow, cypress, jacaranda, mulberry, eucalyptus, pine and plane. Weed pollen was very low and only daisy and English Plantain pollen was detected.
Pretoria
Grass pollen increased to moderate levels following heavy rain. Tree pollen was low, but cypress, acacia, casuarina, jacaranda, mulberry, eucalyptus, olive, pine, plane, oak and birch pollen was detected in low quantities. Weed pollen was low and consisted of: English Plantain, Stoebe and Fabaceae. Moulds increased in response to recent rains but did not exceed the significant threshold.
Bloemfontein
All pollen and fungal spore levels were low during this relatively dry sampling period. A small but insignificant spike was seen for basidiospores. Tree pollen included acacia, olive and white stinkwood and weed pollen consisted of English Plantain and daisy.
Kimberley
The historical pollen count was very low for this sampling period, but real count data for last week showed high grass pollen counts. No tree or weed pollen was detected. The mould levels were low, but a small spike was seen for Cladosporium following slight rain.
Durban
Grass counts were low during this sampling week. The tree counts were low and the types identified were: birch, eucalyptus, white stinkwood and Casuarina. Low weed levels included daisy and fern pollen. Mould spores decreased sharply in the absence of rain.
Gqeberha
Grass levels were very low during this sampling period. No tree pollen was detected in the air and the only weed pollen detected was Protea. Mould counts were extremely low.
