A pilot project suggests that machine learning could enable devices to identify infected trees in the orchard. By Anna Mouton. Plum marbling, caused by plum viroid 1, is named for the irregular skin discoloration associated with infection of Japanese plums.…
A project comparing three methods to determine water use finds that they provide similar results. By Jenny Underhill. “We could estimate the water requirements of plums based on international work, but there wasn’t a dedicated study on plums in South…
The latest results from a three-year Hortgro-funded investigation of effective pollination period in Japanese plums. By Anna Mouton. Export cartons per hectare drive the profitability of Japanese plum orchards. The first step in filling those cartons is to have a…
A summary of Hortgro-funded research on water and irrigation. By Anna Mouton. Water scarcity was already a recognised risk in 1998 when Dr Theresa Volschenk and colleagues of what is now the ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij began investigating the Soil Water Balance…
Can plums tolerate higher CO2 levels during shipping? By Kyra-Kay Rensburg. The current reefer container-vent setting of 15 m3 per hour for stone fruit aims to prevent CO2 build-up but exacerbates moisture loss. Closing the vents could increase relative humidity…
What is the window of opportunity for pollination of popular Japanese plum cultivars? By Anna Mouton. Japanese plums account for about 10% of hectares planted to pome and stone fruit in South Africa. Despite setbacks ranging from severe droughts to…
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,…
How humidity and temperature can be used to limit moisture loss in plums. By Grethe Bestbier. Moisture loss of as little as one percent of their total mass can cause some plum cultivars to shrivel. Although shrivel is a post-harvest…
Why do some plum cultivars shrivel more than others? By Grethe Bestbier. Shrivel, especially in plums, is a major problem in the South African fruit industry. This post-harvest condition manifests as shrinkage, shrivelling and reduced mass, and is related to…
New project aims to inform optimal resource management. By Anna Mouton. “Our agriculture for centuries has been based on extensive agriculture because we have enough land. So up to recently we never really thought about optimising land use and water…