Fruits & Nuts Farming | Farmer's Weekly

Fruit sector research: power-generating trees, solar nets, and more!

Glenneis Kriel — Tue, 02 May 2023 08:49:44 +0000

Soaring energy and labour costs have sparked research into new production practices in the fruit industry. Calla du Toit, procurement manager at Tru-Cape, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about these developments.

Surviving the troughs of the blueberry market

Lindi Botha — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 12:12:44 +0000

Three years ago, few would have foreseen that blueberry prices would plunge by more than 50%, forcing many investors to the brink of collapse. Berry farmer Luan Swart of Mpumalanga explained his strategies for weathering the storm to Lindi Botha.

Avocado farmers prove the value of ridging

Lindi Botha — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 08:00:57 +0000

Limpopo farmers Kosie and Manie Eloff, faced with the need to re-establish their avocado orchards, decided to conduct a multiyear experiment comparing the yields of trees planted on ridged and level soil surfaces. They discussed their methods and results with Lindi Botha.

A guide to optimising blueberry production

Lindi Botha — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 09:44:42 +0000

Blueberries are a challenging crop to cultivate, as the plants don’t readily absorb key nutrients, and the berries can therefore vary in flavour, quality and size. With an increasingly picky market, farmers need to optimise plant nutrition to obtain a consistent crop that commands high prices. Lindi Botha spoke to Dr David Marks.

Brothers turn apple farm into top producer

Glenneis Kriel — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 08:02:12 +0000

The Lingenfelder brothers have made significant changes to production methods and orchard management since joining their family’s apple and pear farming operation in the Western Cape’s Overberg region. They spoke to Glenneis Kriel about their techniques, precision-farming technologies, and yield increases.

Pomegranate: a superfood that thrives in the Klein Karoo

Glenneis Kriel — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 11:38:03 +0000

Gerhard Meyer has achieved export success with his top-quality pomegranates. Now he and a group of other Klein Karoo farmers have established a brand specifically for pomegranates grown in this area, promising substantial employment and attracting government support. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the project.

Rediscovering the importance of marula fruit in Namibia

Magda du Toit — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 10:17:26 +0000

For thousands of years, Southern African communities have used the bark, leaves, fruit and kernels of the marula tree for their medicinal and nutritional properties. Martin Rust spoke to Magda du Toit about how his family is exploiting this multi-faceted resource, which occurs naturally on their farm in northern Namibia.

How an SA producer grows 70 000t of citrus a year

Magda du Toit — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 09:48:14 +0000

Mahela Group is a third-generation farming business in Limpopo. Eddie Vorster, director of the company’s citrus division, spoke to Magda du Toit about the strategies and farming practices they follow to achieve their considerable success.

Micro-cloning powers SA avocado production

Magda du Toit — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 08:14:33 +0000

Allesbeste Nursery, established in the 1980s, has been expanded many times. Yet the end is still not in sight, according to Zander Ernst, the company’s director of marketing and production. Magda du Toit asked him about the history of Allesbeste and its pioneering efforts to improve South Africa’s avocado production.

Optimal irrigation for perfect blueberries

Lindi Botha — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 08:13:39 +0000

Since blueberry cultivation requires a lot of water, making every drop count is key to the sector’s survival in a water-stressed country like South Africa. Farmer Wikus Strauss spoke to Lindi Botha about his methods.