Preparing seedlings for the season and your conditions
Seedlings should vary according to the season. Bill Kerr shares how he learnt this vital lesson, and offers tips on how to harden seedlings.
Bacterial and fungal diseases of garlic
Garlic can be prone to bacterial and fungal diseases, and it’s important that farmers are proactive in preventing infection and practise appropriate management.
Viruses that can attack a bean crop
Bill Kerr explains how bean common mosaic virus and bean yellow mosaic virus can infect a field and spread, leading to major crop losses.
South African avocado production: a success story
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...
What growers gain by having a seedling germination room
A germination chamber set at about 25°C leads to a high germination percentage and shortens the time span before seedlings are placed out in the nursery, saving the grower money.
New farmers’ seedling pitfalls
Inexperienced farmers may be tempted to grow seedlings from seed themselves, but they have much to gain by trusting a seedling grower at a nursery to perform this task for...
Use the correct growing medium for safe seedling production
Instead of buying expensive growing mediums for seedlings, farmers can make their own mixtures from local resources, such as manure, which are economical and produce excellent results.
Canola: a growing force in South Africa’s agricultural landscape
Zander Spammer, an agricultural resource manager at Southern Oil, spoke to Zunel van Eeden about the growth of the canola industry in South Africa and the main uses for this...
Cherry production in Gauteng: challenging, but possible
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...
Learn to solve your own crop problems
So-called experts often tell farmers what the problems are with their crops without being sure and just hoping for the best when suggesting solutions. Rather use your own experience to...
Optimal macadamia production requires an investment in soil
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...
Increasing the nutrient use efficiency of potatoes
In today’s agricultural playing field, the focus is being directed at sustainably producing crops for a growing world population. Concepts like ensuring food security, soil quality and fertility, nutritional value...
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