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…
Maximising returns on investment. By Anna Mouton. “To earn more money, you need to put more apples into the export market,” says Willie Kotze, technical adviser with Dutoit Agri. “You’re not going to win by trying to cut costs.” The…
Past and present project. By Dawie Moelich and Anna Mouton. The Post-Harvest Innovation Programme and the Deciduous Fruit Producers’ Trust — now Hortgro — funded a project on internal packaging for Golden Delicious and Pink Lady apples, Bon Chrétien and…
The name Phytophthora literally means plant destroyer — fitting for a genus that abounds in disease-causing species. By Anna Mouton. Phytophthora infestans thrust the genus into notoriety by launching the Irish Potato Famine of 1845–1849, estimated to have killed 1…
Growers consider many factors when deciding which cultivars to plant — postharvest performance should be one of these. By Anna Mouton. Planting trends often follow fruit prices, observes Keith Bradley, general manager of Fruitways AgriServices. “People look at their returns…
Have you noticed a decline in your yields without a clear explanation? Experts warn that it could be due to plant-parasitic nematodes. By Jorisna Bonthuys. Each handful of soil contains hundreds of nematodes, most of which are so small that…
Spores of decay-causing fungi are an ever-present threat to stone and pome fruit. Understanding exactly how the rot sets in can help growers prevent losses. By Anna Mouton. A post-harvest disease is any disease where the symptoms appear after harvest…
What can physiological profiling tell us about this Cripps Pink mutation? By Anna Mouton. Apple growers are always on the lookout for new Cripps Pink strains that can deliver higher Class 1 pack-outs. Lady in Red is one such promising…
Do chill units tell us anything? By Anna Mouton. The idea behind chill models is to figure out what trees will do in spring. Will they wake up smartly and crack on with flowering? Or will they linger over bud-break…
Research results demonstrate the many benefits of putting nets over apple orchards. By Anna Mouton. Sunburn is as much a problem in Washington State as it is in South Africa. Washington growers have historically managed sunburn through overhead evaporative cooling…