Fruit flies
Keeping your orchard pest-free. By Dane McDonald. It is the trouble every fruit grower is trying to avoid— finding a fruit-fly larva— just one hit can ruin the day, if not the entire season. “Nobody wants a maggot in their…
Insect pests in a warming world
What can science tell us about the likely impact of climate change on deciduous-fruit production? By Minette Karsten. Climate change has shifted the average weather conditions globally, as demonstrated by regular reports of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, freezing…
Monitoring and mitigation
How can growers best protect their fruit against spotted wing drosophila? By Anna Mouton. The establishment of spotted wing drosophila in fruit-growing areas worldwide is associated with significant damage to susceptible crops. Berries and cherries have been especially hard hit,…
New project explores link between antestia and fruit damage
Are surging populations of antestia bugs in pome- and stone-fruit orchards responsible for fruit defects? By Rae Oelofse. Damage, including puncture wounds, sunken areas, brown spots, and distortion, is rising in pome and stone fruit. The defects are not visible…
Red bugs shifting into fruit trees
Some areas are seeing this orchard-floor dweller moving up and damaging fruit. By Carin Smith. Cenaeus carnifex, commonly known as the red bug due to its colour, is indigenous to South Africa and ubiquitous in orchards, usually on the orchard…
Some like it hot
Winners and losers of climate change. By Engela Duvenage. There is increasing concern about how insect pests will respond to global warming. Will populations increase, or spread to other regions in South Africa? Will some species die out because of…
The response to PSHB
South African stakeholders launch a counteroffensive against the invasive beetles threatening our trees. By Anna Mouton. No one knows when polyphagous shot-hole borers — PSHBs — snuck into South Africa. Their cover was blown in 2017 thanks to a surveillance…