Crops

Quality beer needs quality barley and there’s not enough of it in South Africa. RD Erasmus, well-known Western Cape barley producer, spoke to Jacques Claassen about how he has optimised his farming practices and geared his production towards improving quality and yield.

The challenges of agriculture and the highly competitive nature of international trade make it absolutely essential for us to have support services that supply statistics, information, research, market access, transformation, education and training so we can stay abreast of developments – and even forge ahead on occasion.

With an estimated R1 billion spent on expanding and building new soya bean processing facilities, the South African soya industry is poised to unlock value for farmers and processors.

Cold areas will soon get their first winter frosts. Minimise the damage by taking certain measures. Most often, a light frost will occur about a week into May in cold areas.

The concept of a farmers’ market is probably the oldest version of agricultural marketing we know and remains a popular choice for many all over the world.

You don’t fertilise cucurbits solely according to the plant’s requirements – you also have to take into account the soil’s fertility.

Irrigating in the correct quantities and at the right frequency are key to greater production in a hydroponic greenhouse system. Greenhouse specialist Martin von Holdt shared his knowledge on the ideal irrigation strategy with Lindi van Rooyen.

This year, top honours in the Hex Valley Table Grape Association Block Competition went to Hannes du Toit, who successfully manipulated the tricky and relatively new Sugrasixteen grape variety to produce a good quality, high yield crop with big berries. Denene Erasmus reports.

I’ve been devoting so much time to the spacing of Cucurbitaceae because this aspect is so little understood and has been a limiting factor for countless producers over the years.

Last week, I provided a ‘Market Agent’s Checklist’. But, as with most things in life, it turns out this checklist is far from one-sided.

Willie Nel, recipient of Rooibos Limited’s Producer of the Year Award, says sustainable rooibos production depends on a rotation cycle that will ensure consistently good quality yields. Denene Erasmus reports.

In the last issue, the importance of spacing Cucurbitaceae was discussed. Aspects other than climate will influence the spacing.