Crops

The following fungal diseases are fairly common in lettuce.

When a market agent is caught defrauding a farmer, a long and complex legal process is put in motion. Yet often it seems as if nothing is being achieved.

We focus on spotted wilt and lettuce mosaic virus. Both can be controlled, and even avoided, with the correct agronomic practices.

I hammer on about the importance of farmers visiting the market whenever there is an opportunity.

Oak Valley Estate in the Elgin Valley grows apples and pears, among many other product lines, on a commercial scale. Key to the farm’s production for the export market is proactive fruit farming techniques, including extensive forward planning and constantly refining farming practices ahead of necessity.

The pea leaf miner (Liriomyza huidobrensis) probably originated in South America.

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) recently announced the resignation of Marianne van der Laarse as its Southern Africa representative.

What should you ask yourself when deciding which vegetables to plant? Vegetable expert Bill Kerr explains.

Having already addressed bollworms, this week we discuss the control of aphid, cutworm and leaf miner in lettuce crops.

Wine estate Simonsig pioneered Méthode Cap Classique – a traditional style of producing sparkling wines – in South Africa. The method has since been adopted by a number of estates. Winemaker Johan Malan spoke to Jeandré du Preez about Simonsig’s heritage.

I’ve heard rumblings from on high that it should be compulsory for bigger farmers to allocate, say, 20% of their produce to a black-owned market agency.

One pest has caused severe damage on almost every lettuce farm at some time or other: the African bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera).

Five Mpumalanga apple farmers have pooled their resources to establish their own packhouse, but each producer is independently responsible for producing a quality product in the orchard. Producers Jan Grey and Ryk Pretorius spoke to Gerhard Uys about the advantages of this operating model.

In his Managing for Profit column of 5 February, Peter Hughes tells how leadership expert Fred Kiel found that businesses managed by people of character made returns up to five times higher than businesses whose leaders indulge in questionable behaviour.

Izak de Beer may be one of only a few farmers in Olifantsriver in the Western Cape who is making a profit out of wine grapes. Creative use of mechanisation is one of the reasons for his success. Glenneis Kriel spoke to him about his production methods

The manner in which lettuces are transplanted makes all the difference to the profitability of a crop, as all subsequent practices and expenses up to maturity remain the same.

I recently attended the annual producers and market agents’ information day hosted in Ceres by Korkom.

When planting lettuce, it is very important to ensure that the soil is sufficiently moist to reduce transplant shock.

Drought in the northern Eastern Cape played havoc with this season’s raspberry crop of the Berrynice Berry Company. Fortunately, a small land of strawberries planted as a trial provided a good harvest and inspired the company to continue the crop commercially. Grant Hollins met with Mandy Aukamp in Molteno to learn more about their experience.

The other day, I met with two young people from the subtropical fruit sector. As we settled down around the table, they brought out their smartphones.