Crops

Early blight is caused by the fungus Alternaria solani, and attacks tomatoes as well as potatoes.

Many people think that when they plan to market their fruit or vegetables, their first stop should be a supermarket.

Pierre Heydenrych, a fourth generation wheat farmer in the Western Cape, talks about the difficulties of the weather and the low wheat price.

Late blight in potatoes is caused by airborne spores of the Phytophthora infestans fungus. The disease manifests as irregular dark lesions on the stems and leaves and spreads quickly.

Moving from pigs to earthworms is not a typical business move – but that’s what Umhlali farmer Barry Milstead did. It’s part of his efforts to farm his subtropical orchards more in tune with nature. Robyn Joubert reports.

I was paging through the archives of the Institute of Market Agents of SA (IMASA) the other day when I came across the minutes of a joint meeting of the executive committees of IMASA and the Institute of Market Masters of SA (IMMSA) held 25 years ago, on 19 October 1987.

Many pests target potatoes but most of these occur very occasionally and are likely to do minimal damage.

Producing tomatoes in tunnels is highly scientific, expertise-intensive and efficient in terms of area, water, nutrient and resource use. Keri Harvey visited Amanda Viljoen to find out how she does it.

A bureaucracy is a “system of administration distinguished by its clear hierarchy of authority; rigid division of labour; written and inflexible rules and regulations; and impersonal relationships.

Nematodes are often referred to as ‘eel-’ or ‘roundworms’ because they resemble the common earthworm, but these parasites belong to a different grouping or phylum.

On 22 and 23 August, the Produce Marketing Association of Southern Africa (PMA) will host its annual international conference, ‘Fresh Connections’, at the University of Pretoria.

One pest will invariably occur if provision isn’t made to deal with it. This is cutworm.