Vegetables

When a market agent is caught defrauding a farmer, a long and complex legal process is put in motion. Yet often it seems as if nothing is being achieved.

We focus on spotted wilt and lettuce mosaic virus. Both can be controlled, and even avoided, with the correct agronomic practices.

I hammer on about the importance of farmers visiting the market whenever there is an opportunity.

The pea leaf miner (Liriomyza huidobrensis) probably originated in South America.

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) recently announced the resignation of Marianne van der Laarse as its Southern Africa representative.

What should you ask yourself when deciding which vegetables to plant? Vegetable expert Bill Kerr explains.

Having already addressed bollworms, this week we discuss the control of aphid, cutworm and leaf miner in lettuce crops.

I’ve heard rumblings from on high that it should be compulsory for bigger farmers to allocate, say, 20% of their produce to a black-owned market agency.

One pest has caused severe damage on almost every lettuce farm at some time or other: the African bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera).

In his Managing for Profit column of 5 February, Peter Hughes tells how leadership expert Fred Kiel found that businesses managed by people of character made returns up to five...

The manner in which lettuces are transplanted makes all the difference to the profitability of a crop, as all subsequent practices and expenses up to maturity remain the same.

I recently attended the annual producers and market agents’ information day hosted in Ceres by Korkom.

When planting lettuce, it is very important to ensure that the soil is sufficiently moist to reduce transplant shock.

The other day, I met with two young people from the subtropical fruit sector. As we settled down around the table, they brought out their smartphones.

The trend nowadays is to feed the soil and not the crop.

The latest South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) crop estimate makes for interesting reading, and reminds me once again of just how complex the fresh produce business can be.

Lettuce growing has changed much over the past 30 years or so.

Over the past year or so, several new market agencies have opened on some of the bigger markets.

Lettuce has its origin in the eastern Mediterranean and has been cultivated for thousands of years. It is part of the daisy family Asteraceae, and the range of varieties is...

As I’ve noted before, in the 1940s this country had more than 100 markets. Today, we are down to 24.