Vegetables

It is every vegetable farmer’s dream to produce a higher yield per hectare and have the same yield winter and summer. Jacques Claassen visited an innovative lettuce producer achieving exactly...

Several pests are a potential threat to capsicums. Not only can they damage the crop but they may be vectors for destructive diseases.

Saying “I told you so” is not always the right way to go about winning friends and influencing people. However, in the case of market agents, the rebuke is justified.

Spotted wilt can be devastating in a land of peppers, but need not be if the correct strategies are adopted.

When you drive into the Joburg Market nowadays, you’re greeted by an enormous banner proclaiming ‘120 Years of Freshness’.

Bacterial spot is easily prevented in capsicums, but once in the land it is extremely difficult to stop.

Capsicums are subject to pathogenic fungi, bacterial diseases and viruses.

It’s said that businesses most likely to survive a recession are those that genuinely believe the ‘customer is king’.

One of the most difficult diseases to control in capsicums is powdery mildew.

Peppers are relatively easy to grow when conditions are suitable. If not, taking the necessary precautions will avoid some problems.

We often hear commentators offering sage counsel on how to market fresh produce successfully in a country as diverse as ours.

Younger farmers might find it hard to believe that their fathers had essentially one marketing option for fresh produce – the markets.

As noted last week, the balance between fruit set and leaf volume can have a major effect on the yield and bearing pattern of a pepper plant through its lifetime.

A few years ago, I wrote about the development of fruit and vegetable production in our neighbouring countries – specifically Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Basic fertilisation for capsicums should be adjusted according to a good soil analysis. If you don’t do this, you’ll waste fertiliser and perhaps exacerbate already unbalanced soil fertility.

Capsicum seedlings need to be treated differently from other kinds of seedling.

I never cease to be amazed at the versatility of fresh fruit and vegetables, and this week I want to move away from the market floor for a moment and...

The usual way to grow chillies and peppers is to plant the seed in cavity seed trays with a good growing medium.

High(er) prices might sound like good news for farmers, but it certainly won’t be for beleaguered consumers (who include all of us) as they struggle with increases on a wide...

The pungency or ‘burn’ of a chilli is the result of a complex combination of capsaicinoids that have a different effect depending on which are present and in what combination.