Walnuts: a rising star in SA’s nut basket
Walnuts make up the smallest portion of South Africa’s nut cultivation, yet show much promise as a profitable crop that can be grown across a host of areas in the...
Award-winning apple farmer credits teamwork for his success
Stettyn Farm in the Western Cape recently won the Tru-Cape Award for the highest number of class-one pack-outs and income per hectare for apples. Hendrik Botha, the owner, shared his...
Advice from a successful organic raisin producer
Gawie Steyn, an organic raisin producer of the Orange River Valley, has proved that organic production can be commercially viable. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about his production practices.
Learning through trial and error how to produce kiwifruit in SA
A sunrise industry in South Africa with potential to expand markets locally and abroad, kiwifruit offers good returns on a small piece of land. Malcolm Deacon, owner of Gold Tree...
A growing market for SA’s world-class olive industry
The production and consumption of olives and olive oil are on the rise in South Africa. Magda du Toit spoke to farmers and other experts about the country’s burgeoning olive...
Two appealing new black-skinned plums from TopFruit
TopFruit is introducing two black-skinned plums with excellent eating quality and early harvest windows. Characterised by their black skin and red flesh, they have been carefully selected and developed to...
Macadamia production: cost-cutting ideas to balance falling prices
South Africa’s relatively young macadamia industry has a long way to go to establish optimal farming practices and efficiencies. However, with nut prices falling, producers need to focus on cost...
Get to know dragon fruit
Dragon fruit production in South Africa is growing, thanks to increasing demand from Northern Hemisphere countries.
Fruit sector research: power-generating trees, solar nets, and more!
Soaring energy and labour costs have sparked research into new production practices in the fruit industry. Calla du Toit, procurement manager at Tru-Cape, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about these developments.
Surviving the troughs of the blueberry market
Three years ago, few would have foreseen that blueberry prices would plunge by more than 50%, forcing many investors to the brink of collapse. Berry farmer Luan Swart of Mpumalanga...
Avocado farmers prove the value of ridging
Limpopo farmers Kosie and Manie Eloff, faced with the need to re-establish their avocado orchards, decided to conduct a multiyear experiment comparing the yields of trees planted on ridged and...
A guide to optimising blueberry production
Blueberries are a challenging crop to cultivate, as the plants don’t readily absorb key nutrients, and the berries can therefore vary in flavour, quality and size. With an increasingly picky...
