Crops

Producing tomatoes is expensive and can make or break a farmer. If you plan to grow this crop, first do your homework and investigate its economic viability.

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...

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.

Clement Tshuma believes his small-scale vegetable operation near Kempton Park in Gauteng, not only ensures the sustainability of his own future, but a similar model could be the answer to...

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...

Readers frequently ask me for specific fertiliser programmes for their crops. I would happily oblige if all crops were the same!

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture is funding research to stimulate and sustain the growth and development of minor crops in the province, a move that promises to transform the...

Golden kiwifruit is in high demand in Europe and Asia. New Zealand is currently the largest producer and exporter of the fruit in the southern hemisphere, but South Africa is...

The survival mechanisms that enabled the ancestors of modern crops to survive in the wild will influence the efficacy of the fertiliser we apply to these crops today.

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...

We sometimes tend to make assumptions about how a crop will react without considering the survival mechanisms inherited from its wild ancestors.

When trying to predict how a crop will respond to various situations, remember that all cultivated crops originated from wild ancestors growing in competition with many other species.

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...

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,...

A crop has no way of ‘knowing’ or ‘sensing’ your good intentions. Instead, it responds to the prevailing conditions as a means of self-preservation.

Jeandré du Preez visited Derick van Zyl, estate manager of the farm, Esperanto, in the Koue Bokkeveld, to learn about cherry production in that province, and what makes this crop...

When a farmer says he has 20 years’ experience, it could mean that he has simply been doing the same thing for 20 years without ever trying anything new!

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.

Where many farmers fall short is knowing how deep the water has penetrated after irrigation or rain.

Wine grape prices have remained unchanged for the past decade, and producers in the Olifants River Valley have started to investigate alternative avenues for generating income. Local farmer, Willem van...