How De Rust Estate uses infrared imaging as a cost-effective tool to identify and address stress in orchards. By Anna Mouton. Is there an affordable tool for rapid water-stress detection in orchards? This question set Karin Clüver, production director at…
The highlights of the panel discussion about the South African pear industry’s status and prospects. By Anna Mouton. The panel covered topics ranging from rootstocks to netting. The edited transcript below summarises the main points, and the entire session can…
Cross-pollination by honeybees is a prerequisite for setting many pome- and stone-fruit cultivars. How can growers take control of this process? By Anna Mouton. There’s no recipe for perfect pollination — growers need to fine-tune their practices according to the…
How plum and pome-fruit growers can optimise pollinator performance in netted orchards. By Anna Mouton. “The pollination of plums is super-important,” says stone-fruit grower and technical adviser Petru du Plessis. “If you have correct pollination in September, you can look…
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,…
Research shows that netted apple orchards need less water – but growers should read the fine print. By Anna Mouton. Deciduous-fruit growers are adopting nets to protect their crops against everything from hailstorms to sunburn. Can nets also help trees…
Dr Ian Goodwin is the research leader for crop physiology at the Agriculture Victoria SmartFarm in Tatura. Fresh Quarterly spoke with him about their work on blushed pears. By Anna Mouton. Q. How important are blushed cultivars to the Australian…
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.…
Tonnes are not enough — growers must focus on boosting Class 1 pack-outs. By Anna Mouton. Technical adviser Willie Kotze of Dutoit Agri thinks that apple producers are leaving money on the table by not optimising fruit quality. He believes…
This checklist of dos and don’ts can increase the green colour of fruit at harvest. By Wiehann Steyn. Fruit need good light exposure in the first 40 days after fruit set to get satisfactory green colour at harvest. The chlorophyll…