By Kara van der Berg A new phytosanitary facility dedicated to deciduous fruit will help improve access to new markets and maintain current ones for the industry. Hortgro approved and funded the building of a new phytosanitary research laboratory that…
Members of Hortgro Science’s entomological team visited the Langkloof area in April to follow up on damage to pears possibly caused by sucking insects. Matthew Addison, Crop Protection Programme Manager, and Dr Minette Karsten, a researcher in applied entomology, met…
By Kara van der Berg Hortgro’s Dr Xolani Siboza’s first MScAgric student, Dian Craven, graduated from Stellenbosch University on 4 April. Dr Siboza is a Hortgro-seconded researcher in the Department of Horticultural Science at Stellenbosch University where Craven conducted his study.…
Currently, the industry is in a very precarious position with the current operational status of the Cape Town (CT) port. The industry, and country, is losing millions of Rands on a daily basis due to inefficiencies resulting in berthing delays…
A Summary from the WAPA Report: August 2021 – European forecast The World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) released the 2021 European apple and pear crop estimate. In 2021, the apple production in the EU for the 28 top producing…
Despite Covid-19 and a few tough drought years, the deciduous fruit industry has been blessed with exceptional harvests in every fruit category managed by Hortgro, after “near-perfect growing conditions”. Hortgro expects a record apple and pear harvest this season, despite…
The technical production story of the recent pome fruit season concluded with a fairly happy ending given plot twists such as extreme weather events, “reliable” cultivars underperforming, and a global pandemic that almost single-handedly disrupted the fruit value chain. Despite…
In June this year the SAAPPA board, HORTGRO management team and other industry role-players came together at Klipbokkop to align the apple and pear producers for the future. The workshop, facilitated by Louis von Broembsen, aimed to clarify the role…