Experts explain two agrochemical options that growers can use to manage harvest maturity. By Anna Mouton. Ethylene is a plant hormone that promotes fruit ripening, flower opening, and leaf dropping. In mature pome and most stone fruit, ethylene drives the…
This is arguably one of deciduous-fruit farming’s most difficult seasons. By Hugh Campbell. Exports on almost all crops are down, and many technical experts agree that things have not been easy. To get a broader perspective on the past season,…
Dr Shelley Johnson, a quarantine entomologist, says the deciduous fruit industry’s export market is based on sound phytosanitary principles — monitoring in particular. By Dane McDonald. Johnson, a Hortgro and Stellenbosch University researcher, says the ideal way to manage phytosanitary…
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…
The analysis of water use commissioned by Hortgro provides an interesting perspective on evapotranspiration data for pome and stone fruit. By Anna Mouton. The lead researcher on the project, agrometeorologist Dr Caren Jarmain, collaborated with Dr Nicky Taylor, senior lecturer…