Crops

Starting as a farm labourer at the age of 10, with no formal education, Ntuseni Nesane became a leading black commercial farmer and an award-winning tomato producer. The University of Venda has recently awarded him an honorary doctorate in agriculture. Peter Mashala visited him on his farm.

Market agents, by the very nature of their occupations – they represent producers in a financial capacity – have a law especially written to regulate their activities and protect the producer’s financial interests.

When planting any pumpkin, marrow, gem or other Cucurbitaceae, it’s important to get the spacing right. Get it wrong, and you could lose 50% or more of your yield.

Only a small amount of hops is needed to make beer, about 40g of the dried product for every 100l, but beer would just not be the same without it. SAB Hop Farms near George grow this essential ingredient in one of South Africa’s favourite drinks.

I’m sure most readers find it perplexing if the management of a business spends precious money on ‘beautification’ when the basic infrastructure is crumbling into non-existence.

It’s extremely risky to plant tomatoes in the open in areas where hail and three-day spells of rain are common.

Bacterial diseases are extremely difficult to control and can be very destructive in tomatoes (and other crops).

One of the stipulations of Act 12 of the 1992 Agricultural Produce Agents Act is that a market agency must comply with the requirements of the Agricultural Produce Agents Council (APAC).

The other day, a market agent told me about a supposedly ‘loyal’ producer who had decided to bypass him and supply directly to an unnamed buyer in the same town, who had offered him a ‘better deal’.

We have already discussed bacterial wilt which sees the leaves and growing tip of an apparently healthy plant hanging due to lack of water.

From humble beginnings, Walter Williams has grown a business that today has three farms as well as a fruit packing business in the Ceres Valley. He spoke to Denene Erasmus about his early days as a farmer and his tried-and-tested production techniques.

On top of the Piketberg, Advanced Potato Propagation propagates mini-tubers in specially adapted greenhouses. Jay Ferreira speaks to APP’s manager, Ferdi Breytenbach.

The eastern Free State’s apple orchards are doing well with a small edge in marketing time over the more established orchards of the Western Cape. Lloyd Phillips talks to Charles Smith of Fyvie Farming.

‘VAC’ is my acronym. It stands for ‘visibility, availability and credibility’, and refers to the need for a market manager (MM) to be on the market floor as frequently as possible.

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is a fungus in a hurry, and may already have done much damage if you’re not awake and watching out for the conditions which favour it.

Janie Cilliers became a farmer out of necessity, but soon fell in love with it. And, after much hard toil, seven years down the line JC Trading in Brits has grown from four tunnels to 29, delivering nearly 25 000 cucumbers a week. Lindi van Rooyen reports.

Leaf miners need not be the threat they were when originally introduced.

In the drive to mine the wealth of Mpumalanga, many productive farms have been turned into open cast mines while others wait to be dug up. Investing in soil which is soon to be mined presents some challenges to the farmer. Lindi van Rooyen visited Ivan Enslin to see how an appropriate soil management plan can save money and optimise yield.

Being a market manager (MM) on a fresh produce market is a hands-on business and not about skulking in sumptuous offices. Unfortunately, far too many of our current crop of MMs seem to prefer the latter option.

As if the challenges of growing tomatoes aren’t enough, tomato farmers seem to be constantly subjected to new pests and diseases.