Playing ball without football
Inga Dlumane certainly has the X-factor. He also has some serious ball sense and a lot of common sense. And the insight to let the right kind of sense prevail. By Gerrit Rautenbach Inga was born 31 years ago in…
Playing ball without football
Inga was born 31 years ago in the Eastern Cape in the town, Elliot, that is now known as Khowa. There, he had a good upbringing and schooling, where he developed an immense love for the game of football. Not…
Pollination and the deciduous fruit industry
By Elise-Marie Steenkamp The deciduous fruit industry is almost totally dependent on a healthy honeybee population and a viable beekeeping industry. It is therefore important that beekeepers and the industry regularly engage and share future challenges and growth projections. Mariette…
Pollination in the spotlight
It is that time of year when pollinators work hard to ensure a successful production season. Dr Nanike Esterhuizen, Hortgro Science Crop Protection Applied Researcher, shares answers to questions she regularly receives about pollination. How important are pollinators to the…
Pollination pricing 2023
The Western Cape Bee Industry Association, the WCBA, is not issuing a recommended tariff this year for members hiring out their beehives for the pollination of agricultural crops. The WCBA has, instead, advised its members to negotiate individually with farmers…
Pome and stone fruit industry serious about agri transformation
By Engela Duvenage “Our mission is to enable upcoming farmers with the necessary skill, knowledge, and tools to prosper,” says Mariette Kotze, Hortgro’s group operations manager. Numerous recent documents and reports have allowed the pome and stone fruit industry to…
Pome Fruit Packhouse & Cold Storage Water Risks
Water risks for pome fruit packhouses Blue North Sustainability was contracted by the Packhouse Action Group (PAG) to conduct a study on the water risks faced by pome fruit packhouses and cold storage operations. Find an infographic summary of the…
PORT INEFFICIENCIES COST APPLE AND PEAR FARMERS R26 000 PER HECTARE
“While we recognise that the Port of Cape Town (PoCT) management is implementing a terminal turn-around strategy and welcome the acquisition of new infrastructure, the worryingly slow pace at which it is happening remains a deep concern and has direct…
Post-harvest Innovation Programme and Hortgro’s PHYLA
By Desireé Thompson On 17 September 2024, the Post-Harvest Innovation (PHI) Programme held its Steering Committee meeting at the Hortgro Science offices on the Welgevallen Experimental farm in Stellenbosch. The meeting was followed by project presentations by five PHI researchers…
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF COVER CROP TRIALS SHOW MANY BENEFITS FOR DECIDUOUS FRUIT GROWERS
Research on soil health and orchard floor ecology is an emerging theme in agriculture as it is an important component of sustainability. Hortgro Science Crop Protection Manager, Matthew Addison along with Hendrik Pohl, had the vision to initiate a cover…
Press Release: Collaborative Effort to Enhance Capacity at the Cape Town Container Terminal
Cape Town, Wednesday – 12 February 2025 — Stakeholders in the export-orientated fruit value chain, together with the Western Cape Government and Transnet Port Terminals, are pleased to announce a new collaboration aimed at enhancing operations at the Cape Town…