Fruit & Nuts

Groundnuts favour warm, dry climates, but since they are widely planted under dryland conditions, they do require good rainfall. This presents a challenging scenario for disease management, as diseases that attack groundnuts thrive in warm, wet conditions. Lindi Botha investigates effective strategies.

As Peru dominates global blueberry production through scale and efficiency, South African producer Six33 is taking a different approach. By focusing on premium fruit quality, improved genetics and refined labour management, the Franschhoek-based business is positioning itself to compete in an increasingly demanding export market.

Young entrepreneurs Ashley Bennett and Kate Jarvie have launched a macadamia tissue oil that combines their love of Zululand and wellness. Their 100% natural product is helping them forge new roles within their family agribusinesses while building a market for an under-appreciated local resource.

Although Mozambique is often viewed as a cheaper, easier farming location than South Africa, cost comparisons tell a more complex story. But while cross-border production presents real challenges, it also offers opportunities for complementary trade, diversification and regional food security, particularly when it comes to subtropical crops such as bananas.

Albertus van der Merwe, Raisins South Africa’s Most Improved Grower of the Year in 2025, balances multiple farming ventures while maintaining precision, performance, and a people-focused approach.

Many raisin producers assume that retiring without a son to take over the farm means the end of the family business. Alcois Blaauw, this year’s winner of the Raisins SA Female Producer Award, proves that assumption to be wrong. Glenneis Kriel reports.

Local litchi producers compete with Madagascar and Mauritius during the counter-seasonal summer harvest. To meet global demand, production chains must stay efficient, says Jaco Henery, production manager at Komati Fruits, who explains how they manage their harvest for exports.

TopFruit provides South African producers with stone fruit varieties that meet specific market demands. Our selection spans the entire growing season and includes cultivars with varying chilling requirements, ensuring adaptability across different climates and production conditions.

When Jacques de Villiers took over the Giba banana farm in Kiepersol, Mpumalanga, after a hurricane destroyed the plantation, he had little more than experience and determination to work with. By reviving old plantations, tightening labour management, and applying data-driven precision, he is proving that banana farming can be profitable and sustainable – even on a shoestring budget.

Dragon fruit farming in South Africa has been fraught with challenges, resulting in many undertakings being abandoned. But perseverance pays off, and through constant fine-tuning, Freddie Steyn has triumphed. He shared his recipe for success with Lindi Botha.

Following rapid expansion between 2014 and 2019, most of South Africa’s macadamia nut orchards have reached maturity. The larger trees and denser orchards require a different approach to management in order to get the full yield that mature orchards promise.

South Africa produces a wide range of apple cultivars, from export staples like Golden Delicious and Granny Smith to sweet varieties preferred across the continent. New cultivars are also gaining ground, attracting interest from farmers and consumers.

Over the years, Eduard Dreyer ventured into different markets to build his business’s resilience. Groundnuts, however, became a core part of his farming enterprise, so much so that he built a processing plant that specialises in cleaning and sorting the crop. Nichelle Steyn reports on how Eduard and his son Christian handle the 2 000t harvest.

Avocado production in South Africa has expanded markedly since the industry’s humble beginnings over 80 years ago. From a small grove planted in 1938 in what was then Nelspruit, the industry has blossomed to seven million trees planted on 20 000ha. Dr Guy Witney, project manager at Great Brak Avos, spoke to Annelie Coleman about the country’s avocado production.

Growing cherries in a suboptimal climate requires manipulating trees and temperatures. But with a considerable market advantage, it is worth the effort. Lindi Botha visited ZZ2’s Toscana farm, which for four weeks of the year takes prime position in the cherry market.

Macadamia farming is a long-term investment that could keep paying off for decades to come if a solid foundation has been laid. Farmer Johan Swanepoel spoke to Lindi Botha about establishing new orchards, and the benefits to be reaped from managing soil health from the start.

Blueberries have been identified as an ideal crop for boosting agriculture’s contribution to South Africa’s gross domestic product. Given the labour-intensive nature of this crop and its lucrative export market, investing in it was an obvious choice for Pan African Resources and Primocane Capital as a means of supporting rural communities near Barberton in Mpumalanga.

In 2019, dairy farmer Jonathan Willows and his business partner, Laine Collett, launched a pineapple operation on a dairy farm in the Eastern Cape. They spoke to Mike Burgess about why and how they rebooted a once-successful pineapple farm to set them up to produce 7 000t of the Cayenne variety a year.

With the support of his wife, Andrew Doré has changed his approach to macadamia farming by adopting organic practices. He spoke to Sinenhlanhla Mncwango about his farming experience, challenges, and how he expanded his business into processing macadamia nuts into health products.

Featuring an array of delicious fruit from peaches to cherries, stone fruit is attractive to a variety of bugs that can be effectively controlled with integrated pest management, writes Zunel van Eeden.