Field Crops

Sabrina Dean spoke to Deon Marais, combine harvester operator, and Richard Godfrey-Thom, a cotton farmer in the Vaalharts region of the Northern Cape, about the innovative cotton picker revolutionising and reviving South Africa’s cotton industry.

Protecting stored grain from insect pests is essential for Africa’s future food security. University of KwaZulu-Natal doctoral candidate, Mohamed Saeed, describes his successful tests with a widely known fungus to help achieve this.

Gerhard Scholtemeijer, Protein Research Foundation chairperson, is an ardent advocate for soya bean production in South Africa, and has promoted the crop for the past 20 years. He spoke to Annelie Coleman about the industry’s inception, its challenges, and his thoughts on its future.

Over the past 15 years, Alan and Russell Heger have grown their farming operation into a major supplier of cucumbers in the Eastern Cape. Grant Hollins spoke to this father-and-son team about their successes, as well as the challenges they face in trying to grow the business.

Free State Young Farmer of the Year 2017, Johan van Huyssteen, is working to ensure the sustainable productivity of his family farm for future generations.

Grant Pringle, an agronomist with Pannar Seed, tells Lloyd Phillips how a farmer can get the best out of a silage maize crop by using the correct planting and management methods.

Sweet piquanté peppers, marketed under the PEPPADEW label, require all the attention a farmer can spare to produce good results. Limpopo farmer, Jaco Kriel, spoke to Gerhard Uys about producing this challenging but rewarding crop.

Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) can infect a wide range of hosts, and losses of up to 20% have been reported in infected tomatoes. Phillip Mphuthi of the Agricultural Research Council’s (ARC) Industrial Crops unit in Rustenburg discusses TMV detection, prevention and management.

Amaranth has a high nutrient value and is a popular superfood worldwide. Because it can withstand harsh climatic conditions, it is also an attractive crop to farm. Western Cape farmer, Gerrie Niewoudt, tested it and discussed the results with Glenneis Kriel.

While some farmers in the Olifants River Valley are switching to organic production to overcome poor wine prices, others are converting to fruit and vegetables.

The supply of water to Olifants River Valley producers has been frequently interrupted in recent years due to breakages in the irrigation canal. Glenneis Kriel spoke to Johan Matthee, CEO of the Lower Olifants River Water Users’ Association, about the causes of this and its impact on farmers.

Drip irrigation systems have a well-deserved reputation for water-efficiency. Although this gives them an obvious advantage in water-scarce South Africa, irrigation specialist, Mark Zartmann, explains that there are several factors that a farmer should consider before converting to such a system.