Nitrates versus ammonia: get nitrogen your veg can use
Many farmers apply nitrogen in the form of ammonia and can’t figure out why the crop doesn’t respond. It’s important to understand that, while plants can take up ammonia, most...
Understanding nitrogen fertilisation in vegetables – part 1
Of all the plant nutrients, nitrogen has the greatest influence on the success of any crop. While a shortage of any element will be a limiting factor, its effect on...
Taking your sweet potatoes through to maturity
Even though sweet POTATOES are a generally low-care crop, some pests can cause a complete wipe-out. You need to do regular inspections and know what to look for.
Getting it right with sweet potatoes
You could say sweet potatoes are easier to grow than weeds. The important thing is to keep the planting material disease-free.
Don’t ignore the small guys
I suppose it’s human nature – or is it just greed for people to favour big clients?
Choosing your maize cultivar
Seed companies are outdoing themselves in developing new maize cultivars.The national maize cultivar trials, conducted by the Agricultural Research Council, looked at newcomers and old favourites to give maize producers...
Food for Africa!
Africa is the third fastest growing region in the world after Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. Since 2000 some 90 million Africans have moved to cities, and the continent...
SA pear producers get cheeky
Cheeky, the newest blushed-pear variety to be released to the South African industry, is the result of 16 years of hard work by renowned plant breeder Taaibos Human. Industry sources...
Using radish to control cyst eelworm
A fodder radish crop can exterminate up to 95% of a cyst eelworm population and be used for biofumigation, writes Bill Kerr.
Diversified farming, booming business
A mission station in the rural hilltops of KwaZulu-Natal has diversified into a range of agricultural activities, but peppers grown under state-of-the-art greenhouses and export avocados are the main commercial...
Getting to the bottom of cavity spot mysteries
Cavity Spot is a very destructive carrot disease that has been giving farmers and researchers sleepless nights all over the world. It has been determined that cavity spots on carrots...
It’s a tough road for vegetable farmers
Dear Bruce Roberts-Baxter, Your chillingly accurate letter to Farmer’s Weekly for the issue 26 February 2010, captures the plight of many farmers setting out to make a living from farming.
Double-crop your way forward
Local farmers would do well to emulate the UK's approach of double-cropping, ecologist Ben Breedlove tells Roelof Bezuidenhout. So, instead of just harvesting a planted crop, why not also slash...
Soil organisms for sustainable farming
Ben Krog, MD of fertiliser company Profert, understands there’s more to soil health than piling on chemicals. He told Annelie Coleman about the vital role played by soil microorganisms, especially...
No-till can be practical for vegetables
No-till helps farmers work with nature, with massive benefits in the quality and health of soils and water use, sustainability and economics. And Bill Kerr speaks from first-hand experience.
Taking your watermelons to maturity
Regardless of yield, watermelon quality is vital for sales, price and future demand for your product. Cultural practices are especially important during the last period towards maturity.
Nature: farmer’s best friend
A vegetable farmer in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, who converted to biological crop production, has significantly increased yield, improved quality and reduced input costs. Robyn Joubert reports.
Making money from muck
Nutrient-rich dairy slurry was once considered a liability and a pollutant, but the current high fertiliser price has changed all that, says dairy technical consultant Gavin Brockett. Robyn Joubert spoke...
Good choices keep costs down
The winner of the Berg River Table Grape Competition for 2008 Johann Britz of the farm Tweespruit near Paarl, chose a pitted grape cultivar because he believed it was best-suited...
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