New irrigation systems: making do with less
With dwindling water supplies and a greater emphasis on efficient use of resources, irrigation technology is evolving to make do with less. While the initial capital costs of the latest...
Soil health integral to sustainable conservation farming
Conservation agriculture (CA) is an affordable approach for farmers, involving the adoption of regenerative agriculture principles and practices, with the potential to improve food security.
Know your armyworm species
Effective control of armyworm begins with being able to differentiate between the various species. South African crop farmers need to learn and apply this skill, Dr Annemie Erasmus of the...
Ginger: a challenging crop, but well worth the effort
Cultivating ginger is costly on all fronts: time, labour and water. But managed correctly, the crop adds good cash flow to a farming business. Jaco Lubbe of Sabie Valley Ginger...
Family farm harvests 50t of carrots a day all year round
Bloemfontein farmer Johannes Griesel started producing carrots on 0,5ha. Today, he grows thousands of tons of this staple crop, harvesting it on every working day of the year.
Polysulphate an ideal fertiliser for potatoes and other crops
Polysulphate is a new, multi-nutrient fertiliser that has been introduced to South Africa by ICL.
Protecting South Africa’s trees from the shot hole borer
The polyphagous shot hole borer threatens over 150 South African tree species. If left unchecked, it could cause huge damage to citrus and avocado orchards, amongst others. Prof Wijnand Swart...
Identifying and controlling sweet potato viruses
Sweet potatoes are an important commercial crop and contribute significantly to food security in many poorer South African households. Dr Julia Mulabisana and Dr Sunette Laurie of the Agricultural Research...
How to improve the oil yield of a sunflower crop
Dr Safiah Ma’Ali, a senior researcher at the Agricultural Research Council’s Grain Crops Institute, outlines a recent South Africa study demonstrating that farmers can significantly improve sunflower oil content and...
Cashing in on the expanding plant extracts market
Planting alternative crops for the extracts or essential oil market can be profitable, but it’s no easy road to riches. Pietersarel de Bruyn of Herbs Aplenty spoke to Glenneis Kriel...
Sugar cane farmer’s five steps to bring his soil back to life
The negative effects of more than 170 years of monocropping with sugar cane in South Africa are starting to appear. KwaZulu-Natal sugar cane farmer Deon Schröder explains what these are,...
Large-scale composting turns waste into healthy soil
Over the years, composting guru Redge Jelliman has produced thousands of tons of compost as organic fertiliser for his crop farming enterprise in the Free State. Now semi-retired from farming,...
Vegetable farmer’s battle against the forces of nature
Eric Mauwane of Oneo Farms in Gauteng says that a crucial lesson he has learnt about sweet pepper production is the need to understand market demand and manage production practices...
Late rainfall sees Free State farmers returning to wheat
When the rains came too late to plant maize at the end of 2018, Bultfontein farmers Anton and Heinrich Botha joined other producers in the region in planting dryland winter...
Investing in lucerne pays off for western Free State farmer
Lucerne under irrigation provides Free State farmer Boeboe Louw with an ideal alternative to grain. Annelie Coleman visited him on his farm in the Wesselsbron district to find out how...
Butternuts: know your market and maintain quality
Butternuts are a reasonably easy crop to grow, with few in soluble problems. The real challenge is to match the cultivar with the market. Mpumalanga-based producer Francois Steyn spoke to...
Insects: know your friends from your foes
Hannelene Badenhorst, a PhD candidate in entomology at the University of the Free State, explains the value of differentiating beneficial insects and other arthropods from harmful ones before resorting to...
Earthworms to the rescue on degraded sugar cane land
With sugar cane being a perennial crop that is ploughed out and replanted only after a number of years, the soil in which it grows can suffer as a result...
The long, hard road to profiting from potatoes
In 1998, at the age of 45, Frans Vlok left his job as head of Kynoch fertiliser services in the Western Cape to pursue his lifelong dream of farming full-time....
Wheat producers, treat fungicides with caution!
South African wheat producers should guard against over-application of fungicide, according to Dr Tarekegn Terefe, senior researcher at ARC-Small Grain, Bethlehem. The unnecessary use of fungicides can harm the environment...
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