Unlocking new value from an old cultivar. By Anna Mouton. “Forelle has been around for 350 years,” says Dr Ian Crouch, director of research at ExperiCo. “Historically it’s been eaten as a sweet and juicy pear. But our problem was…
Fresh Quarterly interviews a deciduous fruit expert. By Wiehann Steyn. Professor Karen Theron has been with the Department of Horticultural Science at Stellenbosch University since 1985. She currently holds the Chair in Applied Preharvest Deciduous Fruit Research. For the past…
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,…
Let the product be your guide. By Anna Mouton. Frank van de Geijn is a senior consultant and post-harvest researcher at Wageningen University and Research. He is with the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group which focusses on all questions relating…
What is in the producer’s toolbox? By Anna Mouton Frank van de Geijn is a senior consultant and post-harvest researcher at Wageningen University and Research. He is with the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group which focusses on all questions relating…
Finding the causes and cures for moisture loss. By Grethe Bestbier. Moisture loss in pears is the subject of a new project that started in April this year. The project team includes Anél Botes of the Agricultural Research Council’s division…
Past and present project. By Dawie Moelich and Anna Mouton. The Post-Harvest Innovation Programme and the Deciduous Fruit Producers’ Trust — now Hortgro — funded a project on internal packaging for Golden Delicious and Pink Lady apples, Bon Chrétien and…
A new project to reduce plastic in pome-fruit packaging. By Grethe Bestbier. As the pressure on producers and pack houses to use environmentally friendly practices increases, a group of researchers is asking how we can reduce the use of plastic…
Stink bugs or stem-pitting virus? By Anna Mouton. A new research project funded by Hortgro aims to establish the cause of dimpled and deformed pears seen in Western Cape orchards. The project is led by Dr Rachelle Bester and Prof.…
Conflicting views on a century-old disease. By Anna Mouton. Pear stony pit is a disease of pear trees that shows up as deformed fruit. The fruit are dimpled or pitted. Severely affected fruit may have a distorted shape and become…