Crops

Swellendam farmer Hoppies Uys has started a new farming trend in the Southern Cape by planting a summer cover crop directly after harvesting a silage crop in August. He talked to Glenneis Kriel about the principles involved and the results thus far.

There was a time, more than 50 years ago, when fresh produce markets enjoyed a market share of 80% or more. This is an ‘educated guess’ based on my own experience.

To combat herbicide resistance, farmers worldwide are having to become inventive in their herbicide application. Villa Crop’s Pieter le Roux offers practical solutions to the problem and looks at some do’s and don’ts.

Of the pests that damage beans, perhaps the best known is the bollworm.

Market agents are taught from day one that the producer is their main client – and rightly so. It’s the producer who pays their commission. But what about the other side of the coin – the buyer?

The most well-known fungal disease in beans is rust (Uromyces phaseoli). But it has become less of a problem due mainly to the emergence of resistant bean varieties.

Consumer tastes in fruit are becoming increasingly sophisticated and varied across the world, and a future trend will be growing demand for new eating experiences and exotic flavours. Riaan van Wyk, one of the directors of the fruit breeding company, re:inc innovation, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about his views on these trends.

I recently made my third visit to the relatively new Mooketsi Regional Market north-east of Polokwane in Limpopo, and came away almost in awe.

Humus is arguably one of the most important contributors to sustainable life on our planet, yet it remains largely unappreciated. Graeme Sait, CEO of Nutri-Tech Solutions in Australia, explains why humus is so important and how we can help to produce it.

Exotic Sharon fruit was introduced to South Africa in the late 1990s, but it took years to establish in which regions the trees would produce optimally. Over the past five years, the industry has been consolidated and is now taking advantage of new export markets.

I often chuckle inwardly when I’m on a market floor listening to a negotiation between the salesperson and a buyer. The exchange frequently differs dramatically from what I teach about customer relations.

Bacterial diseases are a menace to all crops, because unlike the case with fungal diseases, we have few means of controlling them.

Given the high cost of labour, using chemicals is the only realistic option for weed control in most crops.

Southern Cape conservation farmers are continually looking for new ways to improve their operations. The latest technological advance in planters, the Tobin Bullet disc planter, now allows them to move from minimum till to no-till.

In the Farmer’s Weekly of 17 April 2015 there is an article on the new complaint process envisaged for consumers of agricultural products.

Harvesting is one of the big expenses in bean production and consequently needs to be done efficiently.

The relationship between producer and market agent remains at the core of a fresh produce market.

SA soya bean production has increased markedly over the past couple of years. As drought hits our western production regions, farmers expect to harvest marginally less of the oil seed than last year. Jaco Visser analyses the domestic and world outlook for soya bean production and prices.

Local small grain producers must optimise production through precision farming in order to stay competitive in globalised markets. Through a recent merger, the Tweekop farming enterprise in the Southern Cape has done just that. Jacques Claassen visited the farm and reports.

The local macadamia nut industry has been taken aback by a recent crackdown on illegal traders in China procuring nuts for their domestic market....