Prof. Wiehann Steyn, General Manager of Hortgro Science, discusses how Hortgro takes a proactive approach to water. The primary aim of our research strategy is to produce and market more high-quality fruit. Part of that involves mitigating risks. Climate change…
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…
What do growers need to know? Summarised by Anna Mouton. A team led by Dr Stephanie Midgley, Specialist Scientist for Climate Change at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, recently completed a Hortgro-funded climate change response strategy for the South…
The year is 1822, and 54-year-old Joseph Fourier heads the French Academy of Sciences. Fourier had lived through the French Revolution and later served as scientific adviser to Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a brilliant mathematician and physicist whose work is…
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,…
“I got into climate change from day one in my first job,” recalls Dr Stephanie Midgley, Climate Change and Risk Assessment Scientist at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. Midgley originally completed her MScAgric in horticultural science, but she started…
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…
A Hortgro-funded project assessed the response of new and popular apple rootstocks to deficit irrigation. By Anna Mouton. Dwarfing rootstocks are quite literally the foundation of high-density apple orchards. They encourage earlier bearing that supports the rapid attainment of full…
A summary of past and present Hortgro-funded Forelle research not covered elsewhere in this issue. Hortgro-funded work on other pear cultivars is not discussed here – consult the research inventory in the PDF for a complete list of pear-related projects.…
Every fruit farmer knows irrigation is an essential part in growing the perfect crop. Horticulture experts Stephanie Midgley, Wiehann Steyn and Michael Schmeisser explain why this is, and how trees actually use water. By Esté Beerwinkel. Plants need to take…