This invasive pest was featured in the September 2023 Fresh Quarterly. What have we learnt since then? By Anna Mouton. Polyphagous shot-hole borers are wood-boring beetles that establish and cultivate fungal gardens in their host plants. The beetles feed on…
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…
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…
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…
Research in biological control is shaping the next agricultural revolution. By Anna Mouton. The so-called green revolution of the sixties gave the world mind-boggling advances in agriculture. Crop production boomed thanks to the development of new varieties and cultivation methods…
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.…