Fruit flies
Keeping your orchard pest-free. By Dane McDonald. It is the trouble every fruit grower is trying to avoid— finding a fruit-fly larva— just one hit can ruin the day, if not the entire season. “Nobody wants a maggot in their…
Nip phytosanitary risk in the bud
Dr Shelley Johnson, a quarantine entomologist, says the deciduous fruit industry’s export market is based on sound phytosanitary principles — monitoring in particular. By Dane McDonald. Johnson, a Hortgro and Stellenbosch University researcher, says the ideal way to manage phytosanitary…
The sharpest tool in the shed
Measuring flesh firmness in late-season nectarines with the 8-mm penetrometer. By Anna Mouton. The introduction of late-season nectarine cultivars has transformed production in South Africa over the past three to four decades. Nectarines are now harvested as late as March,…
Stopping the rot
What we’ve learnt about cankers in apple trees. By Grethe Bestbier. Canker development in newly established apple trees has been increasing in the Western Cape, with stem cankers responsible for losses of 30% and 70% respectively in two affected orchards…
A South African perspective on chemical thinners
Fresh Quarterly interviews a deciduous fruit expert. By Wiehann Steyn. Professor Karen Theron has been with the Department of Horticultural Science at Stellenbosch University since 1985. She currently holds the Chair in Applied Preharvest Deciduous Fruit Research. For the past…
How do the different chemicals thin?
Understanding natural and assisted abscission. By Karen Theron. Fruit growers use several chemical thinning compounds to control the number of fruit their trees produce — we discussed these in the preceding article. In this article, we explain how different chemical…
Who’s who in chemical thinners?
And what are best practices for use. By Karen Theron, Schalk Reynolds, and Schalk van der Merwe. Most fruit trees set far more fruit than they can support. Trees respond naturally by shedding fruitlets. In apples and some pear cultivars,…
Dynamic fruit needs dynamic storage
Let the product be your guide. By Anna Mouton. Frank van de Geijn is a senior consultant and post-harvest researcher at Wageningen University and Research. He is with the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group which focusses on all questions relating…
Exterminate grain chinch-bugs
Trials using ethyl formate yield promising results. By Anna Mouton. “Phytosanitary issues are among the many challenges we face in the international trade of fresh fruit,” said Dr Shelley Johnson, research associate at Stellenbosch University. Johnson has been working on…
Put the brakes on decay
Effective fungicide application on stone fruit. By Anna Mouton. Post-harvest decay of stone fruit can cause significant financial losses. Arrie de Kock, senior researcher at ExperiCo, explained how to prevent problems through an integrated approach that includes application of fludioxonil…