Oak Valley
Growing greener Grannies. By Anna Mouton. “Granny Smith is a very high value apple,” says Graeme Krige, technical adviser at Fruitmax Agri, “but it has to be perfectly green or it’s out. It’s not the case that mild sunburn is…
Paardekloof
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…
Raising the bar
What comes next for the Orchard of the Future? By Glenneis Kriel and Wiehann Steyn. The Orchard of the Future programme was considered revolutionary when it was launched in 2010, but innovations associated with the participating orchards have since become…
Research rundown
A summary of Hortgro-funded apple-rootstock research projects. By Anna Mouton. Rootstock research at Hortgro Science includes evaluation trials and horticultural and disease-related projects. Rootstock evaluation The first Hortgro-funded trials of Geneva rootstocks, led by Carlo Costa of the ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij,…
South African apple-rootstock trends
The industry has come a long way since M.793 ruled the roots. Three technical advisers discuss the journey and where we might go next. By Anna Mouton. The story of M.793 begins in 1920 when selective breeding for woolly apple…