Carbon jargon
Your quick guide to carbon literacy. By Anna Mouton. CO2, CO2e and GHGs Greenhouse gases — GHGs — in the atmosphere trap heat that would otherwise radiate into space. The most abundant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere is water vapour,…
Confronting climate change
Carbon emissions and the future of South African agriculture. By Anna Mouton. Global warming threatens South African agriculture as much by changing consumer behaviour as by changing the climate. Growing awareness of the environmental impacts of agriculture is leading consumers…
World leaders in water management
How does Israel manage to export water when the country has an arid to semi-arid climate? Fresh Quarterly learns more from renowned hydrologist Prof. Eilon Adar of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev…
Groundwater
What do about half the people and half the crops on earth have in common? Their survival depends on groundwater. By Anna Mouton. Only about 2.5% of all water on earth is fresh. About 0.9% is brackish. Everything else is…
New study on water needs of pears
Good news for the pear industry – a project to quantify the water requirements of high-performing pear orchards has been approved for funding by the Water Research Commission. By Engela Duvenage. The project is set to begin in April 2022,…
Low-flow drip irrigation in apples
A new Hortgro-funded study compares tree performance and root development in low- and ultra-low-flow drip-irrigated apples. By Engela Duvenage. Continuous low-flow drip irrigation is being used with great success by the South African citrus industry. A Hortgro-funded project launched in…
Dwarfing rootstocks and water stress
Promising preliminary results from a Hortgro-funded study show that dwarfing rootstocks are not more susceptible to water stress than conventional rootstocks. By Engela Duvenage. Initial findings from a three-year study run counter to the views of some producers that dwarfing…
Be realistic about water savings under nets
Nets protect apples from sun, hail, sleet, and wind. But do they reduce water use? Preliminary data suggests yes, but less than elsewhere in the world. By Engela Duvenage. Hortgro is co-funding a project with the Water Research Commission to…
Water use in plums
A new study investigates water use in full-bearing Japanese plum orchards, and how water availability impacts fruit yield and quality. By Engela Duvenage. The project is co-funded by the Water Research Commission and Hortgro. It is led by Prof. Nebo…
Orchard water use relates to leaf area
Control vegetative growth to improve the water-use efficiency of apple orchards. By Engela Duvenage. This is one of the conclusions in a recent report by a team of researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Agricultural Research…