December 2020
Articles in this Issue
Figuring out the cause of pitted pears
Stink bugs or stem-pitting virus? By Anna Mouton. A new research project funded by Hortgro aims to establish the cause…
What is pear stony pit?
Conflicting views on a century-old disease. By Anna Mouton. Pear stony pit is a disease of pear trees that shows…
Getting to grips with plum marbling
The science behind the control strategy. By Anna Mouton. Figuring out plum marbling is like building a jigsaw. The discovery…
Plum marbling
What is it and what can be done about it? By Anna Mouton. What is plum marbling? Plum marbling is…
What can COVID-19 teach us about tree health?
Fundamentals of infectious disease in deciduous fruit trees. By Anna Mouton. This has been the year of the amateur epidemiologist.…
Bud to orchard
Hortgro Science puts the spotlight on plant material. By Anna Mouton. “The quality of plant material has been identified through…
The Deciduous Fruit Plant Certification Scheme
Top-performing orchards start with a blue-label investment. By Anna Mouton and Rachel Kriel. What is the Deciduous Fruit Plant Certification…
To pot or not
Why grow nursery trees in containers? By Anna Mouton. The traditional way to produce a nursery tree is to grow…
Get a handle on new trees
It’s not just up to the nurseryman. By Grethe Bestbier. Much can go wrong between the lifting of nursery trees…
Here’s to your tree’s health
Start with pest- and disease-free nursery trees. By Grethe Bestbier. It is vital to establish a new orchard with healthy…
A strong start
The physical and physiological characteristics of nursery trees. By Grethe Bestbier. How you start something often affects how you finish…