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1DEC/JAN 2019 | SA FRUIT JOURNAL

EDITORIAL

Christa Haasbroek'Vitamin for the Soul'

ELISE-MARIE STEENKAMPHORTGRO 021 870 2900

[email protected]

GLORIA WEARECGA 031 765 [email protected]

CLAYTON SWARTSATI 021 863 0366

[email protected]

TSHIDI RAMABUCRI 013 759 8013

[email protected]

CARMÉ NAUDÉHORTGRO 021 870 2900

[email protected]

CLAUDIA WALKLETTFPEF 021 526 [email protected]

At the time of publishing this edition of Fruit Journal, many of our readers would know that Christa Haasbroek suddenly and unexpectedly passed away on 5 October 2018 after a short illness. The big C she so bravely fought for a number of years, returned with a vengeance.

She was not only loved and respected by her colleagues and will be sorely missed, but the gap she leaves as a wife and mother, as a daughter and sister, and as a dear friend, will be impossible to fill. Our best wishes and prayers go to her husband Pieter, children and the rest of the family for the difficult times that lie ahead without her presence in their midst. We trust that her courageous fight against cancer and the way she lived life to the fullest will be an inspiration to you – as it is to us all - in the years to come. It is clear that she loved and cherished, as she was loved and cherished, by her family and friends.

It is our prayer that you will remember her with a smile whenever the tears are near when you celebrate future family events and anniversaries which will now, sadly, be without her being present.

As colleagues we remember her smile, even in tough times whilst she fought her disease. She always had a kind word or encouragement or wisdom for her younger colleagues. We will remember her for her somewhat eccentric clothing, but always stylish with a feather or colourful headband or hat or earrings or dress and/or some other weird attachment.

We will also remember her as a friend with a calming influence on those around her; putting others first; always caring and ready to help; as a confidant for the younger ladies in our office; her excitement about a beautiful photo or flower; as a dedicated and compassionate Christian, with integrity and a passion for life; ready with a joke or a witty remark; an inspiration and an example of those things that is really important in life. For her (not so) quiet (and infectious) chuckle – or rather a giggle!

Yes, somewhat headstrong too and difficult to convince otherwise if she had made up her mind. Clear focus and standing firm when she believed in something. Passionate and proud about the Journal and making it the quality magazine it is. That legacy will continue.

Christa liked to travel and always looked forward to the next trip. Ironically, she will now miss out on two media trips to Europe that were scheduled for October and November 2018.

Christa, we will remember you as a very loyal and special person and you leave a huge gap in many people’s lives. You were, and will remain 'vitamin for our soul'.

Rest in peace.

ANTON RABE on behalf of FRUITSA/HORTGRO COLLEAGUES

ELKE UITGAWEEVERY ISSUE

BEDRYFSNUUSINDUSTRY NEWS

Editorial 1

SA Fruit Journal Board of Directors 4

Foreword 5

Spoeg 'n Pit 6

Barley: one basic start to whisky 84

Last Word: Pitso Sekhoto 87

Research that fuels economic growth 12The Families of Mooigezicht Estates 34The SA Olive and ABSA Top 10 Awards 60International acclaim for SA Olive Oils 63Pomegranate: Old crop in fashion again 64

HORTGRO Unique partnerships bring authentic Agri growth 9Deciduous fruit industry celebrates commitment and perseverance despite difficult season 16

Richard Hurndall’s deep footprints 18'Checknet' Jan: Bedryfsleier 2018 21From general worker to farm manager 22Appelbome praat met hom 24A true orchardist 25Droogdruiwe slaan nuwe rekord 26Turning data into profit 28

Jobs Fund: ‘When things get tough, the tough get going.’ 30The Magic of partnerships 32Agriculture for tomorrow . . . 35Hortgro research showcase 36Agriculture - key to the future 38Hattrick year for the founder of Flash GalaTM who now has two new Fuji strains too 42Care for our future leaders 41

CITRUS GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION (CGA)First electronic phytosanitary certificates delivered to the Netherlands 45IMO 2020 low sulphur fuel regulation set to radically increase Global BAF costs 47New CGA board 48Research facilities return to the industry 48Southern African Citrus Industry export season 2018 49

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CONTENTSVOLUME 17 | PART 6

SOUTH AFRICAN TABLEGRAPE INDUSTRY (SATI)How can technology support post harvest table grape quality? 53Lessons to be learned from Israel’s desert agriculture 55SATI and SASEV expand reach of countrywide information days 58

HORTGRO SCIENCE Are water savings in apple orchards under shade netting an additional benefit? 81

CITRUS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL (CRI)The Citrus Academy launched the Citrus Short Course in October this year 69Equip: Learning from the best 69Extension briefs for December '18 and January '19 73Postharvest treatments aid control of Citrus Black Spot (CBS) 76Notes on the 10th International Fruit Fly Symposium 78

ADVERTORIALSARCAQUA Customer success manager required 40SANTAM Santam Agriculture's technical experts help keep the farming industry moving forward 54ARCAQUA Wonderful citrus gives the thumbs up to South Africa’s breakthrough ozone sanitization technology 86

SAFJ (SA Fruit Journal) is also available in electronic format on our website.

SAFJ (SA Vrugtejoernaal) is ook elektronies beskikbaar op ons webtuiste.

www.safj.co.za

RESEARCH &TECHNOLOGY

4 BEDRYFSNUUS | DES/JAN 2019

ANTON RABEExecutive Director, HORTGRO

JUSTIN CHADWICKCEO, CGA

ANTON KRUGERCEO, FPEF

WILLEM BESTBIERCEO, SATI

KONANANI LIPHADZICEO, Fruit South Africa

SAFJ BOARD OFDIRECTORS

SAFJ SHAREHOLDERS

HORTGRO STONE (SASPA)

Tel: 021 870 2900 • Fax: 021 870 2915258 Main Street, Paarl • PO Box 163, Paarl 7620

[email protected] • www.hortgro.co.za

CGACITRUS GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION

PO Box 461, Hillcrest 3650 • Tel: 031 765 2514Fax: 031 765 8029 • [email protected]

www.cga.co.za

HORTGRO POME (SAAPPA)

Tel: 021 870 2900 • Fax: 021 870 2915258 Main Street, Paarl • PO Box 163, Paarl 7620

[email protected] • www.hortgro.co.za

FPEF FRESH PRODUCEEXPORTERS’ FORUM

Private Bag X5, Century City 7441Tel: 021 526 0474 • Fax: 021 526 0479

www.fpef.co.za

SATISOUTH AFRICAN TABLE GRAPE INDUSTRY

63 Main Street, Paarl 7646 • Tel: 021 863 0366 [email protected]

IGNATIUS VLOK 082 331 2127 | [email protected]

Opinions expressed in advertisements and promotional articles are not

necessarily those of the SA Fruit Journal. We do not accept responsibility for damage or injuries

which may arise from possible inaccuracies. All rights reserved, none of the content may be used

in any other media without the prior consent of the SA Fruit Journal (Pty) Ltd.

SA FRUIT JOURNAL ISSN: 1683-4577


FOREWORD

The future of horticultural industries in South Africa

JUSTINCHADWICKCEO, CGAT

he Moroccan government introduced the “Plan Moroc Vert” (Green Moroccan Plan) in 2009. This plan was to stimulate the agricultural sector in Morocco – which was faced with the multiple challenges of low investment, poor organisation, inadequate management, limited water, land fragmentation and a predominance of cereal production. The advantages of the Moroccan agricultural sector was geographic location (just across the Straits of Gibraltar from Europe), the big domestic market and

skilled farm labour. Similarly to South Africa, the agricultural sector was characterised by two distinct group-ings – large-scale commercial farming, and small-scale semi subsistence farming.

The government tackled the two sectors with different projects. The industrialised, commercial agricultural sector was incentivised to maximise production on farms by promoting agribusiness investment. Trade conditions were improved by eliminating barriers to trade, and signing free trade agreements. Small-scale agriculture was given support in marginal areas, farmer’s income was supported and natural resources safeguarded. The 2020 goal is to create 1.5 million jobs, triple agricultural exports, increase agricultural value by 250% and attract US$ 15 billion into agriculture. This involved extensive investment by government, and the results have been spectacular. In the citrus sector alone area the under citrus increased from 40 000 hectares in 2006 to 122 600 hectares in 2017, and production more than doubled. Since Morocca consume a considerable amount of citrus per capita, exports have not shown any growth.

Sound familiar? Job creation, attracting investment, increasing exports. Although there are many similarities between Moroccan and South African agriculture, there are also many differences. South African agriculture is heavily invested (look at all the new plantings, using new technology such as nettings and the latest water saving methods), agriculture is well organised (through commodity organisations and agricultural unions), South African farmers are amongst the most qualified in the world (see how they are sought in neighbouring countries and abroad) and there is less fragmentation. However, we are geographically poorly located, the domestic market demand is relatively small and government policy is not farmer friendly.

Yet South African horticultural industries record ever-increasing plantings, production, exports and earnings – in an unfavourable political climate. Government has done precious little to assist farmers in this growth. However, that needs to change. It is very well having all this product available, but it needs to have a market, and it needs to get to the market. Government is going to have to work with industry in ensuring that the infrastructure is adequate and efficient to get product to, and through the ports. At present volumes the ports are stressing; what will happen when all the plantings start getting to maturity? In addition, govern-ment is going to have to adequately capacitate those government departments involved in market access. Present market opportunities will become subject to oversupply.

The horticultural industries in South Africa are well placed to assist in economic recovery, job creation, land reform and rural development – and they have done that by expanding production and exports. We need a true public-private partnership to fully benefit from this potential.


SPOEG 'N PIT

Werfspoke . . .

HERMAN JONKERSPOEG 'N PIT Rubriek M

iskien is dit die spoke (hulle verskyn mos vanself as jy jou verbeelding aan die skadu’s uitleen), of miskien is dit bloot nostalgie. Hoe ook al ‘n ou plaaswerf, veral as hy verlate en omring van roes-goed lê, is ‘n plek wat met ‘n mens praat.

Die bodeur is stram as ek hom oopstoot, sy stem hees van onbruik. Skilferende verf vertel van tye toe bruin in die mode was, en room, en bottelgroen. Ek tree oor die holgetrapte drumpel na binne. Op die vloer fluister ‘n dik laag stof en vlermuismis van vergange dae toe leersole en kinderknietjies die planke blink geslyt het. Teen die gekraakte vernis van die plafon vorm die vlieëmis ‘n spikkelkleed van vergetenis.

Hierdie moes ‘n slaapkamer gewees het. In die hoek leun ‘n afbeen ysterkatel nog teen die muur. Agter die deur hang ‘n vergeelde BP almanak van Ferreira Garage aan ‘n spyker. Iemand het 16 Februarie 1986 omkring met rooi kryt. Wat sou so betekenisvol gewees het aan daardie Sondag, wil ‘n mens wonder.

Soos ek ronddwaal en snuffel rekonstrueer ek, met ‘n bietjie verbeelding, hoe dit hier kon gelyk het.

‘n Paar boute wat bo swartgevlekte beton uitsteek wys waar ‘n ou ligte-enjin se werkplek was. ‘n Gehawende sifdeur aan ‘n buitegebou vertel van melkemmers en vleisbakke wat geskrop moes word en ‘n roomafskeier wat gesjor-sjor het wanneer die slinger draai. Buite wurg die drade van ‘n ystergalg ‘n dwarstak van die peperboom.

Wie ook al hier gewoon het weet ek nie, maar oral in die skrewe en skerwe van hul verlede het termie-te en geitjies en perdebye hulle intrek kom neem. Die natuur is stelselmatig besig om weer terug te eis wat die mens opgestapel het.

Om die punt van die rant, tussen ‘n paar ver-knoetsde perskebome, vind ek ‘n rommelhoop. Dis waar die spoke verder gestalte kry, want hier word

die onverteerde reste van hul lewens ontbloot.

Oral lê oorblyfsels van gebruiksgoed. ‘n Pop se kop. ‘n Ou emaljekamerpot met ‘n koeëlgat deur. Die geroeste draadgeraamte van ‘n matras. ‘n Chamber-lains-koliekbotteltjie, wit Ingram’s Camphor Cream-potjies en dik glasbottels uit ‘n era voor plastiek. Tussenin skitter stukkies glas en skerwe porselein van lankvergete bruidskat.

Bo-op die rant gaan kies ek vir my ‘n gedagteklip. Van hier kan ek wyd kyk oor die landskap en sy paar verlate bousels.

Wat sou sulke plekke se spoke eintlik wou sê, sit en wonder ek. Want oral op die platteland gaan dit so. Huise en geboue staan verlate.

Sou hulle wou vertel van ‘n era toe boer ‘n lewen-swyse was en selfs ‘n marginale stukkie plaas ‘n heenkome en lewensbron vir ‘n paar gesinne kon wees? Sou hulle kon getuig van ‘n waardestelsel wat bestaan belangriker geag het as uitblink, en barmhartigheid hoër geskat het as profyt? Sou hulle vertel hoe mense destyds in vrede gelewe het? Want nêrens in die ou geboue daar onder is daar diefwe-ring nie. Geen teken - anders as ‘n paar deurknoppe met blikslotte - van vrees of bedreiging nie.

Of sou die spoke van toentertyd maar net hulle koppe skud? Die ruïnes daar onder is immers ‘n aanklag teen die meedoënloosheid van ons hedendaagse bestel. Op ‘n moderne plaas is daar nie meer plek vir bysake en bywoners nie. Deesdae moet ‘n boer skerp en gefokus wees om te oorleef.

By implikasie was die mense wat hier gebly het dan seker nie skerp genoeg toe dinge begin verander het nie. Die nodige kennis en middele miskien nie daar nie, en die boerdery gevolglik nie produktief genoeg om langer ‘n eie bestaan daaruit te maak nie.

En tog, wil ek dan vir die spoke vra, is dit dan nie juis teen die agtergrond van sulke verlate plase wat die politieke speelbal van grondverdeling so maklik rondgeskop word nie?


Reg. nr. 1998/106581/07Philagro Suid-Afrika (Edms) Bpk.Pretoria: 012 348-8808Somerset-Wes: 021 851-4163www.philagrosa.co.za

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9DEC/JAN 2019 | INDUSTRY NEWS

One of the key economic drivers and objec-tives of the South African fruit and wine industries is to transform the agrilandscape in a sustainable manner by focussing on primary agriculture as well as the entire

value chain – upstream and downstream. This is done by creating opportunities to include previously disadvantaged individuals to actively participate in the fruit sector by enabling a black-owned business to become commercially successful, sustainable and integrated into the economy.

Yet, one of the biggest challenges that agripreneurs face, is access to finance to become fully-fledged commercial entities.

Now, the South African deciduous fruit industry, the Jobs Fund and Land Bank are proud to announce the first ever blended finance scheme for people/entities who want to enter or expand their busi-nesses in the fruit and wine industries; targeted (at least) 51% black-owned entities.

Blended finance is the strategic use of development finance for the mobilisation of additional finance towards sustainable development.

Hortfin is a R600 million ring-fenced debt fund directed at the fruit and wine industry value chains and is positioned to provide innovative and compre-hensive financing and support systems in a manner that promotes job creation, transformation and sustainability.

The custodians of this agricultural development fund are the deciduous fruit industry, supported by the Land Bank and the Jobs Fund. The activities of Hortfin will be directed by a board of directors with a range of supporting personnel to effectively execute its mandate. The Land Bank is a key role player and financier and will be responsible for managing the loan book. The Jobs Fund provides grant funding and has a key monitoring role over the initial years. Participants in the broader fruit industry are expected to play an important role in identifying opportunities, forming joint ventures and generally providing support to the investee companies.

In short, Hortfin endeavours to create economic growth, more development, more employment and wealth-creating opportunities in a sustainable way.

Hortfin Directors - Willem Bestbier, Rico Basson, Beverly Farmer, Sunil Kooverjee, Tshililo Ramabulana, Louis van Zyl and Andre Smit.


“In a more systematic way we are focusing our attention on emerging farmers that have struggled to move up the deciduous fruit sub-sector value chain. By making available an innovative finance model, this partnership will provide comprehensive assistance that may significantly contribute to the transforma-tion of the industry over time.”

Najwah Allie Edries Head of the Jobs Fund.

Hortfin – opening a new way of thinking about how to grow the South African fruit and wine industries; to grow inclusively and

in a financially viable manner - not only by providing funding but also through support.

Thereby, reforming lives and investing in world-class agriculture.

“The Hortfin project demonstrates how complementary partnerships may be structured between industry, government and the development finance sector, so as to holistically provide appropriate blended funding and business support solutions for the development of the emerging agricultural sector.”

TP Nchocho CEO Land Bank.

“It is refreshing to see and experience positive movements in support of black deciduous farmers by Hortgro and black-owned brands in the wine industry, supported by the SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit, not only in the Western Cape but in all Provinces that has the climatic conditions for production.

It is not only very good, but also draws on past partnerships and business models to ensure that the sector supports commercialization of black farmers (both fruit and vines) in terms of advice and logistics. The principles of the blended finance are embedded in the process of financial support, and this talks to both the national and provincial policies and it links to the Job Summit recommendations wherein job creation linked to agricultural development remains a key imperative.”

Joyene Isaacs HOD Western Cape Department of Agriculture and Chairperson of the SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit NPC.

Who will benefit?Hortfin is primarily targeted at agripreneurs from previously excluded groups and previously disadvantaged individuals with the following criteria:

• The business must have the ability to repay the loans

• Must consent to appropriate mentoring, capacity building, implementation of financial and admin systems and regular monitoring and evaluation audits

• Be able to create sustainable jobs within the three year imple-mentation period at approximate R300 000 per job

• Be 51% -100% black-owned entities or provide an undertaking to achieve at least 51% black ownership within three years

• Must be a “juristic person” in the form of a company, trust or cooperative, and

• Have a majority turnover from the South African deciduous fruit value chain, including pome and stone fruit and table and wine grapes

Hortfin anticipates its exposure to be in the order of 60% of funding targeted at primary agricultural players and 40% focused on value chain growth.

How is Hortfin different?• Typical applications can range from small black-owned busi-nesses to larger joint ventures with commercial farmers

• The fund has a willingness to absorb relatively greater risk with relatively less security – given the category of applicants that is targeted

• Flexibility in structuring finance products with an optimum matching of cash flows to repayments

• Comprehensive post-investment support and pro-active oversight and assistance regarding financial, technical and management aspects

• It will encourage collaboration with other funders, commodity organisations and agribusinesses to enable the fund to grow and do more. And in doing so will rely heavily on industry bodies and local knowledge to assist with deal origination, the due diligence process, the investment decision and post-investment support.


Thembi Xaba (DFDC) with Hortgro’s Mariette Kotze.

The Jobs Fund’s Najwah Allie-Edries, Sunil Kooverjee from the Land Bank and Hortgro’s Anton Rabe.

• For project information please contact Mariette Kotze:

[email protected]

• For press related inquiries please contact Carmé Naudé: [email protected]

• Or visit https://www.hortgro.co.za/inclusive-growth/hortfin/

“Hortfin is an innovative approach and another ‘tool’ in the toolkit to address a critical challenge to economic development pertaining to access to finance.

It is linked to a comprehensive support package to ensure capacity building, management expertise and skills transfer for long-term sustainability and growth.

Public-private partnerships is a critical element to fast-track land reform and economic development and successfully integrate previously excluded and marginal groups into the mainstream economy drawing on the expertise and resources of the various partners. ”

Mariette Kotze Hortgro Operational Manager andInterim Hortfin Project Manager.

“If we want to stay relevant and ahead of the curve, we need to be innovative and bold and come up with relevant solutions to serve the complex needs of our stakeholders.

This can only be possible if we forge partnerships between like-minded stakeholders. We have learnt of lot from previous initiatives and I am confident that the Hortfin project will be a huge success drawing on the expertise and experience of the partners involved. I am equally confident that this project will be yet another step in our journey towards sustainably transforming the face of our sector.”

Anton Rabe Hortgro Executive Director.

“SATI is excited to be part of the Hortfin initiative, which will help us to realise our vision of creating a progressive, equitable and sustainable table grape industry.”

Willem Bestbier, CEO SATI.

“We believe that the unique partnership between various key stakeholders within Hortfin will ensure a differentiated approach to agricultural finance of value chains within the fruit and wine sectors.” Rico Basson MD Vinpro.

PICTURES: CARMÉ NAUDÉ


Stimulating economic growth in South Africa has been a major challenge for both Govern-ment and the private sector over the past decade. The fresh produce export industry has shown how innovation-based research is

a critical part of the solution to enhancing competi-tiveness, market access and growth.

Consider, for example, the case of the locally developed avocado cultivar, called 'Maluma'.

Thanks to research that showed how fruit damage could be limited through rapid cooling after harvesting, this avocado cultivar is now being exported in much higher volumes than before. With only 10% less fruit damage, the avocado industry saves more than R3.3 million a year. Improved production and harvesting practices have further-more led to higher prices for the commodity. Export customers now pay R50 per carton more for better quality fruit, yielding an additional R15 million on 300 000 cartons exported per year. All this for a research investment that cost less than R480 000.

The programme under which this study – and many other such projects – were carried out, is the Post-Harvest Innovation (PHI) Programme. The PHI Programme is an initiative of the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF), and one of seven Sector Innovation Fund (SIF) programmes funded by the National Department of Science and Technology and industry associations.

Research carried out under the PHI Programme focuses on the development and improvement of post-harvest technologies identified by the industry associations, including the Subtropical Growers’ Association, Hortgro Science, the Pomegranate Producers’ Association of South Africa, South African Table Grape Industry, Citrus Research International, Cape Flora SA, Tomato Growers’ Organisation and the Onions Producers’ Association.

During its 3rd funding phase (2015 - 2018), the Programme successfully rolled out 41 new projects, ensuring a growing level of innovation in the industry. Export statistics show that fresh fruit exports have consistently grown since 2015 to 2017 from R30.2 billion to R40.5 billion, which amounts to a 34% growth over the two-year period. Linked to these projects, the PHI Programme also increased high level human capacity to support future industry growth, having supported the training of 40 post graduate students and six postdoctoral students related to these projects.

Research that fuels economic growth

'Maluma' avocados have a favourable seed-to-flesh ratio and are characterised by a rough skin that is less easily damaged during harvest, export and ripening.

‘Star Ruby’ grapefruit, depleted of lycopene, scars easily when chilled. Chilling injury does not damage the fruit itself. However, the marks that are left on the rind of the grapefruit are unattractive, which lowers the price consumers are willing to pay.


A project was undertaken that looked into ways to decrease the damage suffered by 'Star Ruby' grape-fruit while in cold storage en route from South Africa to export destinations in the USA and the East. Just over R617 000 was spent on the study. Today, five years later and with the study’s recommendations implemented, South Africa’s exports to the USA, China and South Korea have jumped from 88 704 cartons per year to 1.866 million – a 21-fold increase. Over the same period, the national income from 'Star Ruby' grapefruit exports have increased from R68 million to R323 million per year.

Another powerful example of the bottom-line impact research can have, is found in the pome fruit industry. Superficial scald is a post-harvest physiological dis-order that seriously limits the storage life of a number of apple and pear cultivars. It appears in the form of brown or black patches on the skin of the fruit, and although it does not affect taste, it certainly decreases the fruit’s value.

The chemical that has been used in South Africa since the 1960s to control superficial scald is now so tightly regulated in the EU that the local industry had to find an alternative solution. A study was designed to test international storage protocols on locally produced cultivars that had to complete long journeys to their export destinations.

Approximately R2 million was invested, resulting in the development of storage protocols that effectively

Top left: ‘Star Ruby’ grapefruit that grows in full shade develops high levels of lycopene. Above: The presence of lycopene is higher in fruit growing in the shade. Direct sunlight depletes lycopene levels.

Above: Colour charts like these are now being used in pack houses to help make export decisions. Fruit that is completely pink (number 1 on the chart) or more than 80% pink (number 2) can be exported to the USA. Fruit with a 60% to 80% pink cover (numbers 3 and 4 on the chart) can be exported to Japan given that country’s shorter cold sterilisation requirement. Fruit that falls in numbers 5 to 8 on the chart, can only be exported to markets that have no cold sterilisation requirements.

Left: Pears with scald and without scald - the difference between pears stored in regular atmosphere versus dynamic controlled atmosphere.

The PHI Programme has entered its fourth phase (PHI-4) in October 2018, having successfully secured R14.9 million from the Sector Innovation Fund of the DST.

This funding will be matched jointly by the industry partners.

14 SA VRUGTE JOERNAAL | DES/JAN 2019

prevent superficial scald on susceptible apple and pear cultivars. As a result, exports of ‘Granny Smith’ apples and ‘Packham’s Triumph’ pears to the EU could continue, and increased by 25%, between 2014 and 2017. The value of this continued trade was R3.44 billion. If the new technologies were not available, only 7% ‘Packham’s Triumph’ pears could be exported to the EU, and only about 35% of the current apple exports would have been possible.

Research has proven to be invaluable in the development of new export markets, of which pomegranates are a prime case in point. In the past decade, pomegranates have become one of the few new additions to the South African fruit basket. The industry has seen significant growth since the first commercial plant pro-pagating material was brought in from India, Israel and the USA in the early 2000s.

Touted as a superfood, the market for pomegranates is booming. South Africa competes with countries such as Chile, Australia, Peru and Argentina to supply the off-season demands for pomegranates of consumers in the Northern Hemisphere from March until May. However, exporting these fruits can be a risky business. Fungal diseases, such as black heart disease, can cause post-harvest losses of up to 30% and more, and because external symptoms are seldom visible at harvest, it is virtually impossible to take preventative action.

In the interest of establishing and maintaining a competitive edge in the global market, two PHI Programme-supported studies were done to create a harvest maturity index, an index of post-harvest fungal diseases that compromise export quality and jeopardise market access, and standards for handling, packaging, storage, transport and marketing.

An investment of R823 000 has armed this fledgling industry with substantial new knowledge on production and handling protocols that will enable producers to increase the volume of sellable fruit and its competitiveness among Southern Hemisphere exporting countries. The industry body, POMASA, estimates a benefit of between R20 million and R45 million in the coming season through improved quality and reduced decay incidence.

Grain chinch bug, a phytosanitary pest that occurs only in the Western Cape, has caused many headaches for exporters of citrus, pome and stone fruit. Trying to control this pest in the field is extremely difficult. Even ONE insect can cause whole consignments of export fruit to be rejected.

It is estimated that producers suffer losses of up to R20 million per year due to PPECB rejections of consignments at the pack house alone. This figure does not account for rejections of consignments at the ports and cost of additional treatments and/or redirecting the fruit to another market.

Until a decade or two ago, methyl bromide was the post-harvest fumigant of choice and this bug's only nemesis. But due to environmental issues, the use of this fumigant has been phased out. Pressed to find new solutions, these industries jointly invested R783 212 in two PHI research studies to investigate the efficacy of Vapormate®, a new 'green' post-harvest fumigant.

These two studies set out to generate data towards developing specific protocols for commercial application of Vapormate® to control external phytosanitary pests, such as grain chinch bug, mealybugs, scale insects and Fullers rose beetle on citrus, pome and stone fruit. It also investigated the most effective combination of fumigation with Vapormate® or carbon dioxide and a short cold treatment for the control of fruit fly and false codling moth, both internal phytosanitary pests.

These studies made the registration of Vapormate® technology possible for use by the relevant industries in South Africa. Applying

After seven months of storage in regular atmosphere 'Packham's Truimph' pears (top left) and 'Granny Smith' apples (top right) develop severe superficial scald symptoms that only appear once the fruit is taken out of cold storage. However, when applying dynamic controlled atmosphere technologies, these South African grown cultivars suffer no ugly brown and black patches. The fruit has a long shelf life and remain firm are deliciously tasty and fragrant once ripe.


this technology, is both easy and economical. Instal-lation of Vapormate® is estimated to be R300 000 at the most.

The impact of these studies is significant. For example, simply treating citrus, pome and stone fruit with Vapormate® will cut the losses due to PPECB rejections at the pack house alone with

about R20 million per season. As mentioned, this figure does not include the prevention of losses occurring in nodes further down the value chain.

Finding even one grain chinch bug can cause a whole consignment of fruit to be rejected. Using Vapormate® technology can totally eliminate this risk.

The SA pomegranate industry suffered an economic loss of about R23 814 000 due to decay problems in ±30% of exported fruit landing in EU market in 2017.

6|7|8 FEBRUARY BERLIN fruitlogisti ca.comFairpros Ltd.P.O. Box 803 · Port LouisMauriti usTel +27 (0)21 [email protected]

SA_FruitJournal_Südafrika_FL2019_194x122_en.indd 1 24.09.2018 11:44:54

In many cases the research has found that fairly simple changes can have far-reaching – and profitable – impacts. The National Development Plan identifies agriculture as one of the critical growth areas in the economy, and the PHI Programme certainly contributes to this imperative.


Deciduous fruit includes apples, pears, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums and prunes, cherries, table grapes and dried grapes - grown mainly in the Western Cape. The deciduous

fruit industry survived a challenging season which makes the posi-tive commitment and perseverance of agriculturists in this trying time especially worthy.

Four people received awards for outstanding performance working on deciduous fruit farms specifically and three for their direct and indirect contribution to the industry:

Sivuyile Panya from Kromfontein in the Koue Bokkeveld received the merit award for General Agricultural Worker of the Year for his exceptional work ethic and orchard skills. Panya is an all-round,

outstanding orchardist and was also Kromfontein’s Fruit Picker of the Year with a phenomenal 9 296 picking bags to his credit, despite the drought. Panya also out-performed his co-workers when it came to pruning. He pruned an average of 55 to 60 trees a day. According to his manager Johan van Schalkwyk, it is an incredible achievement when the environmental terrain in which he works is taken into account. “Panya stands out in everything that he does and does everything with a smile.”

Willem Booise Production Manager at Bergendal near Citrusdal received the Specialist Agricultural Worker of the Year merit award for his exceptional agricultural knowledge and leadership skills. Booise who has worked at Bergendal for the past 23 years started

THE DECIDUOUS FRUIT INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS 2018:Back: Sivuyile Panya from Kromfontein in the Koue Bokkeveld General Agricultural Worker of the Year; Bongani Gqadu, runner-up Advanced

Agricultural Worker of the Year; Jan le Roux, from the Le Roux Group, Frontrunner of the Year.

Front: Samantha van den Berg, editor of the Landbou-Burger, received the Izethelo Media award; Hendrik Davids representing Vergelegen Boerdery, received the Novice award; Willem Booise Production Manager at Bergendal near Citrusdal received the Specialist Agricultural Worker

of the Year merit award; Richard Hurndall, Hortgro Chairman’s award; Elvis Pieters from Rietfontein in the Koue Bokkeveld received the Advanced Agricultural Worker of the Year merit award. Absent was Buks Nel, varietal expert at Tru-Cape, who received the Innovation award.

DECIDUOUS FRUIT INDUSTRY CELEBRATES COMMITMENT AND PERSEVERANCE DESPITE DIFFICULT SEASON

SOMERSET WEST – The South African deciduous fruit industry presented its awards for outstanding performance in agriculture at the 43rd annual gala evening on 14 September 2018.


as a general worker. Today, he is in charge of 138 orchard hectares and oversees the orchard monitor-ing, irrigation and fertilization of all the production units. He also manages more than 300 agricultural workers and their team leaders to ensure that quality work is delivered. Over the years, Booise has completed several training courses to improve his agricultural skills. Among other things he undertook the learning of isiXhosa to better his communica-tion with seasonal workers. Booise is also an active community leader and serves as a trustee of the Bergendal Employee Trust. According to Potgieter van Zyl from Bergendal, Booise’s years of experi-ence, dedicated interest and attention to fine detail are worth his weight in gold.

Elvis Pieters from Rietfontein in the Koue Bokkeveld received the Advanced Agricultural Worker of the Year merit award for his extraordinary work, strong personality and good teamwork. Pieters who was born on Rietfontein, cut his agricultural teeth by farming with vegetables and livestock. He moved to fruit cultivation in 2012 and within a short period of time distinguished himself in the industry. Pieters takes advantage of all the training opportunities offered to him, which he then gives back with passion and enthusiasm to the community. When it comes to his work, Pieters is strong-willed, dutiful and responsible and handles work pressure with ease. Pieters is also eloquent with a good sense of humour and regularly acts as a master of ceremo-nies at community events. He is also a leader in several community projects. According to Pieters nothing can compare to the production of a Golden

Delicious apple. “These trees talk to me and when I smell the apples, I feel good."

Vergelegen Boerdery in the Breederiver Valley received the Novice award for their exceptional performance as a new entrant to the deciduous fruit entity. Vergelegen showed what can be done when beneficiaries of land reform are serious about agriculture and have the right support and partner-ships. There are currently seven trusts with shares in the company that packs 250 000 cartons of table grapes every year. Vergelegen plans to expand to a 100 hectares of table grapes by 2020 and to develop the pack house facility to handle 500 000 cartons annually. The management of Vergelegen Boerdery acknowledges the help and advice they received from commercial farms. This inspires them to reach even greater heights.

Buks Nel, varietal expert at Tru-Cape, received the Innovation award for his long-standing technical contribution to the deciduous fruit industry, his astonishing entomological knowledge, his passion for fruit varieties and for the discovery of Bigbucks/Flash Gala apples. Nel loves to share his exceptional knowledge of the lifecycle of pests and diseases in the deciduous fruit industry with producers. And is the go-to-person when advice is needed. He also authored two books for the industry: Decidu-ous Fruits and Vines - Pests and Diseases and Their Control, and with Henk Griessel co-authored Apples in the Early Days at the Cape. Nel also discovered the variety clone in the Gala apple family, Bigbucks.

Jan le Roux, head of the Le Roux Group, received the Frontrunner award for his

AWARD WINNERSGeneral

Agricultural WorkerSivuyile Panya

Specialist Agricultural Worker

Willem Booise

AdvancedAgricultural Worker

Elvis Pieters

NoviceVergelegen Boerdery

Innovation awardBuks Nel

FrontrunnerJan le Roux

IzetheloSamantha van den Berg

Left: Jan le Roux receives his prize from Anton Rabe, Hortgro's Executive Director.

Hortgro Chairman, Nicholas Dicey, hands over the Hortgro Chairman’s Award to Richard Hurndall at the Gala Event.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18



leadership role in the agri-cultural sector over a period of 30 years. He has served on several committees and boards and played an important role during the deregulation of the industry in the 1990’s. In the field of black empowerment in agriculture, Jan le Roux took the lead in 1994 by focusing on ‘sustainable job creation that made financial sense’. Wheat farms outside Wellington were purchased and converted into successful stone fruit and table grape farms.Additional work was created when a cold-storage facility and a pack house became operational. In 2004, a further milestone was reached when 32% of Broodkraal Estate's shares were sold to the workers’ trust. The previously disadvantaged workers of the

Le Roux group are all beneficiaries of the trust. The Le Roux Group currently employs more than 4000 permanent and seasonal workers.

Samantha van den Berg received the Izethelo media award for agricultural journalism. Van den Berg is currently editor of the Landbou-Burger. She is being described as an active agricultural journalist who manages close relationships with the industries and is always on top of the latest issues and news. Her professional manner ensures that she delivers quality content creatively.

Richard Hurndall received the Hortgro Chairman’s Award for his 35-year service to the deciduous fruit industry (see article above).

We need you to start in January,” Gawie Roux said to his preferred candidate for the first SAAPPA Technical Manager post.

The 29-year old gushed, “I can’t, I am getting married on 21 January.”

And so young Richard Hurndall started at SAAPPA in February 1983 to drive and implement the maturity indexing programme in the South African pome fruit industry. Thirty five years later Richard’s footprints in the deciduous fruit industry are deep and impactful.

As a boy he was “fairly studious and somewhat sporty”. Traits that over the years have matured into the preferred “go-to-colleague” when you need advice about a wide-range of topics, from squash to the latest CA technology. And anyone that has ever played golf with Richard knows that losing is not an option. He is steadfastly-determined. In work and play. With a strong belief in work-life balance.

“It was a deliberate decision. After I completed my MBA, I had the option to work in Johannesburg for much more money, but quality of life was important to me, and I wanted to stay in the Western Cape.”

The Hurndall family’s agricultural roots run deep. Norwegian by ancestry the first Hurndall set foot in South Africa somewhere around 1860. “They were angora goat farmers,” says Richard. His own parents were sheep farmers in the Karoo, Aberdeen district.

The six-year old Richard was sent to boarding school in Graaff-Reinet and spent the next 12 years of schooling there.

He has a special connection with the Karoo and goes there at least once a year. “It’s spiritual,” he says. “A place where I can clear my head, while walking in the veld, the mountains. When you grow up in the Karoo, you grow up with a gun. You start with a pellet gun and graduate to a .22 and as you grow older, a hunting rifle.” Every winter Richard

Richard Hurndall’s deep footprintsRichard Hurndall

recently received the Hortgro Chairman’s

Award for 35 years of service to the industry.

He is also a squash master and believes in

work-life balance.

Elise-Marie Steenkamp spoke to him shortly

before his retirement.

In 2017, the deciduous fruit industry included 2 231 producers with a total turnover of R12.35 billion per annum. In terms of world production, South Africa ranked in the top 10 for pears, in the top 20 for apples, apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums, and 64th

for cherries. The deciduous fruit industry currently produces fruiton 79 912 hectares and ensures employment to 1.34 people per hectare.

ENQUIRIES: Elise-Marie Steenkamp 082 770 7858 | [email protected]é Naudé 072 313 3021 | [email protected]

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17


Richard Hurndall’s deep footprints

and his sons go on a hunting expedition, on the one hand to make sure that they have enough boerewors and biltong for the next year, and on the other, to rekindle childhood friendships. “I am still on the school reunion’s WhatsApp group.”

A keen student from an early age, Richard, enrolled in a BSc Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University because, “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

He ended up in agriculture when he had to do research on apple flavour for Appletiser. For his trouble, he obtained an MSc in Chem-istry. “I subsequently applied for the position of Technical Manager for SAAPPA to run the maturity indexing lab in Elgin, and the rest is history!”

Stan Smith, who catalysed the process with his enthusiasm and drive to establish a fruit maturity lab would be proud of the impact that this initiative has had on the quality of SA fruit landing on the export shelves.

According to Hugh Campbell, Hortgro Science’s General Manager, maturity indexing has, since those early days, established itself as a standard practice.

“Richard’s drive to get the labs in Elgin, Ceres and the Langkloof commercially focused, saw the early use of computers and the development of the electronic pressure tester which was later commercialised internationally. Hortec and other labs still practice Maturity Indexing 35 years later.

It is almost impossible to confine Richard’s 35-year career to a couple of highlights. Richard says the commissioning of the devel-opment of an electronic pressure tester for more accurate fruit firmness testing and the electronic capturing of readings, was one achievement that stands out. “The instrument was rated the best available by a foremost American researcher.”

According to Hugh one has to take Richard’s work into context: “It is a lifetime of facilitation, networking and implementation, often behind the scenes without much fuss – just getting on with it.”

“Do you look at the growth and development of Forelle pears from the early days through the implementation of the 12 week storage to the FEMA programme built on the excellent research and innovation?

“What about the development of the URS colour charts where Richard cut out paint colour charts to match the colours – these are still seen as benchmarks in the industry.

“One could refer to the technical handbooks that he has had a key role in: The yearly updated CA manual, the Pink Lady Technical Hand-book, the updated Guide to Deciduous Fruit. Dispensations; interac-tion with DAFF; leading the post-harvest research programme; chair-ing peer review meetings; finding alternatives for DPA; local market visits and “project rebirth”; rekindling and driving the Packhouse Action Group and CA Group. Oh, the installation of the latest CA technology at the university.

The Hurndall family at the Gala Evening, from left: Andrew, Margie, Richard, Craig, Andriëtte, Warren Erasmus and Erica Erasmus (née Hurndall).

RICHARD FUN FACTS:• Richard’s first job had no fruit flavour, as a matter of fact - he initially joined the Cape Town City Council to work in the laboratory of the sewerage works in Athlone. “That lasted three months…”

• Richard captained the Western Province Masters Squash 60 – 65 year category A-Team in 2015 and also has his provincial colours for the sport. To top it off: In 2008 and 2016 he took part in the World Masters Squash Championships.

• He is a “regular, average” golfer and belongs to the Seven Oaks – a group of retired squash players (not Richard!) who decided golf tours are fun and a great recreational activity. The Seven Oaks go on golf tours at least twice a year.

• He has been married to Margie for 35 years. Margie has a PhD in Chemistry, and although she has retired from academics she is very busy working on her second career as an editor of scientific publica-tions and academic theses. They have three children: Craig, Erica and Andrew. The first Hurndall grandchild, Emma, was born earlier this year.



“Perhaps his final legacy is capturing all the scientific outputs of the Deciduous Fruit Growers from 1960 to the latest SA Fruit Journal in electronic format with abstracts which will be available on the International Society for Horticultural Science website for all to access,” he concludes.

Not to forget his interaction with fresh produce markets and instigating the requirement of having cold storage facilities on the market floors. Also, the role he played in Project Rebirth - which provides the blueprint for the rehabilitation of fresh produce markets. Thirty five years indeed!

There are some serious challenges ahead for South African agriculture, luckily agriculture is driven by technology, and for this you need a strong research base, says Richard. “Research may seem expensive to fund, but is actually a sound investment if you consider the return on investment. Take for example the Forelle Early Market Programme (FEMA). Around 50% of Forelle is now marketed under this programme. It has brought tremendous quality benefits and price stabilisation to Forelle over the market-ing period, and the annual benefit to the industry probably exceed our total annual research budget. I believe we need to make the next step-up to align our research investment with international benchmarks.”

Asked about any person in particular that influenced him work-wise? He does not hesitate, “Peter Dall was there from the very beginning, and he has provided great guidance and support over the years. I am much indebted to him.”

Over the years Richard himself has employed many young gradu-ates, and has seen them develop successful careers. If he had to give young people advice today: “The opportunities are there if you follow your passion. Work smart, not hard.”

What Richard’s colleagues have to say:• Anton Rabe: "Richard has always been a sort of below the radar type person not making much waves. Very effective and efficient in his own way, so no real international incidents that I can recall. What I do recall is the following:

“I have just started at the then SAAPPA (sometime 2nd half of 1988) – Richard was the Technical Manager, myself Manager for Industry Services. We had a one-on-one meeting about an industry matter and Richard’s secretary at the time was a formidable lady called Yvonne Richter. Red-headed who took no nonsense from anybody. She brought us

some tea and one of us – again I cannot recall which one, but might have been Richard given it was in his office – made

the crucial mistake to take the lid off the tea pot and stir the tea with a teaspoon to make it somewhat stronger. BIG MISTAKE – you don’t mess with Yvonne’s tea. It needs to be left alone in order to steep at its own pace – no barbaric-like stirring of the pot – and she came down on us from a dizzy height and literally shat us out for such a barbaric act. I think my jaw dropped a few inches! Suffice to say that we stopped the uncalled for activity immediately, meekly closed the lid of the teapot and quietly waited for the tea to steep. We then had a quiet and peaceful cup of tea - like the true gentlemen we inherently are! I hope Richard can recall the incident. It certainly put a huge dent in my self-esteem and I have never again tried to stir a teapot with whatever tool I may have at hand.”

• Karin van Rensburg, I2S.

“Richard has been a constant presence throughout my career in the deciduous fruit industry. In fact, it was mainly due to him that I landed up in stone fruit. I first met Richard in 1992 while working on my Master’s degree at Stellenbosch University. My project was on Granny Smith apples and I had to collect samples twice a week from Richard’s Maturity Indexing Laboratory in Elgin.

Two years later I started working at the laboratory and one of the key responsibilities that Richard entrusted me with was a project on Songold plums. I was young and still very green in the industry and I knew very little about anything, especially plums! There were a lot of trials and errors from my side and Richard was endlessly patient with me, always being quietly supportive and a very encouraging manager.

Even after I started working in the export environment, he always had an open door policy offering support and advice freely. There are few people in the industry with as much experience as he has over such a wide range of topics. I am going to miss him.

Thank you Richard for all the support and encouragement the past 24 years!”

• Bibbie Potgieter “Richard: Knowledgeable about deciduous fruit,” (right: Richard with Bibbie attending the Hortgro Research Showcase - story on page 36).


Hy sukkel om die deur by sy nuwe huis – die aftreehuis op Voëlklip, Hermanus – oop te maak. “Alles is nog deurmekaar, ons het ‘n paar weke gelede ingetrek,” maak hy onnodig verskoning, terwyl ons deur die netjiese huis stap.

Hy vertel met die instrapslag van die bobbejane wat so vernielsug-tig is, sy veelbesproke bure (Markus Jooste) verder af in die straat en in die sitkamer wys hy die walvisse wat net agter die breekwater in die branders baljaar. Alles binne die eerste vyf minute.

Jan le Roux speel nie. Produktiwiteit is sy middelnaam. Sy selfoon word afgeskakel vir die presiese duur van die onderhoud. “Ek is ‘n werkholis en ‘n perfeksionis en soms meng die twee nie so lekker nie.”

Die lang man met die snor en x-straal-oë, is die sagtevrugtebedryf se leier van die jaar. Sy reis deur die sagtevrugtebedryf strek oor 30 jaar, maar sy landbouwortels lê diep tot by sy voorvader wat Mooikelder-landgoed buite Paarl in 1913 gekoop het. Histories ‘n wynplaas. “Die ou mense het altyd gesê ons ontmoet mekaar by ‘de mooi kelder’, en so het die plaas sy naam gekry.”

In 1989, na ‘n suksesvolle loopbaan in die kleinhandel, neem hy Mooikelder oor nadat hy reeds in 1981 ‘n gedeelte daarvan, nl. Joubertsdal, uit die boedel van sy pa gekoop het. Die twee plase word as een entiteit bestuur met uitvoertafeldruiwe as produksiefokus.

Vra mens hom oor die begrip leierskap gaan haal hy eers sy antwoord by ‘n storie oor sy pa wat gereeld kaart gespeel het met sy vriende; voordat hy die definisie kort en bondig gee: eerbaarheid en beginsels – soos net ‘n ouditeur kan.

Jan le Roux is ‘n opgeleide geoktrooieerde rekenmeester, net soos sy berugte buurman, en was vir baie jare die Besturende Direkteur van Pepkor, maar hy is ook ‘n natuurlike storieverteller en in gesprek val die gesegdes en staaltjies die een na die ander uit sy mond. “Geld beïndruk hom nie, mense wel.” En, “jy kan nie net oes nie, jy moet plant ook.”

Hy is ‘n plaaskind en Paarliet in murg in been. By Noord-Eind-Paarl skoolgegaan toe daar nog net ‘n handvol kinders in elke graad was. Hoërskool was in Paarl Gim – met ‘n totaal van 71 kinders in sy matriekjaar. Le Roux het groot begrip vir die probleme waarmee Suid-Afrikaanse landbou te kampe het. Ook groot begrip vir die lewenswaardige bestaan wat landbouwerkers toekom. Vir Jan le Roux lê boerdery, sosiale verantwoordelikheid en die skep van werksgeleenthede langs mekaar in die kooi.

En dit is geen sakemanpraatjies nie. Le Roux neem reeds in 1994 die voortou op die gebied van swartbemagtiging in die landbou deur klem te lê op volhoubare werkskepping wat finansieël sin maak. Koringplase buite Wellington en Piketberg word aangekoop en in suksesvolle steenvrug- en tafeldruifplase omskep. So word ook ‘n koelkamer en verpakkingsfasiliteite aangebou wat 24 uur operasioneel is. In 2004 word ‘n verdere mylpaal bereik toe 32% van Broodkraal-landgoed se aandele aan die Werkerstrust gegee word. Die voorheen benadeelde werkers van die Le Roux Groep is almal begunstigdes van die trust. Die Le Roux-groep bied tans werk aan meer as 4 000 permanente en seisonale werkers.

“Ek wil net sê, mense moenie skaam wees om vir

'Checknet' Jan:BEDRYFSLEIER2018

Jan le Roux van die Le Roux-groep het vanjaar die O.S.H. Reinecke-trofee as Bedryfsleier van die Jaar ontvang vir sy leierskaprol in die sagtevrugtebedryf wat oor ’n tydperk van 30 jaar strek. In dié tyd het hy op verskeie komitees en rade gedien en speel ‘n belangrike rol tydens die deregulering van landbou in die laat 90's. Hy neem ook in 1994 die voortou met sy siening oor swart bemagtiging in die landbou.

ELISE-MARIE STEENKAMP gesels met hom.

Jan le Roux tuis in sy aftreehuis op Hermanus.

VERVOLG OP BLADSY 22


iemand anders te werk nie. Veral in landbou is daar die geneigdheid om te dink jy is net baas as jy jou eie plaas het. Die meeste mense werk vir iemand anders. “Ek het my hele sakeloopbaan gewerk vir ‘n besigheid waarvan ek nie die eienaar was nie, maar ek het daar gewerk asof dit my eie besigheid was. En dit is geen skande nie. Selfs dié wat baas is, het ‘n baas. Vra maar vir enige getroude man …”

Die gesprek draai noodwendig na die kwellende kwessies waar-mee georganiseerde landbou tans in Suid-Afrika stoei. “Die kern van ons probleem is vertroue. En dit kom al ‘n lang pad. Daar is ook baie onkunde en ‘n wanbegrip oor die vrugtebedryf. Langenhoven het gesê ‘as mense net praat oor sake waarvan hulle iets weet, sou dit ‘n baie stil wêreld gewees het’.”

Hy meen dat kundigheid oor die vrugtebedryf in regeringskringe nodig is, anders praat mense by mekaar verby. En dit skep wantroue, want dan weet jy nie of ‘n ou bokdrolletjies as rosyntjies aan jou verkoop nie. Voor jy ‘n opinie oor ‘n bedryf uitspreek, moet jy verstaan waaroor dit gaan. Dit is tog ‘n basiese beginsel van die sakewêreld, meen hy.

Le Roux wens die regering wil dit makliker maak vir entrepreneurs

JAN-FEITE:• Jan le Roux word op 12 Junie 1950 gebore.

• Hy studeer aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch en bekwaam homself as ‘n geoktrooieerde rekenmeester in 1974.

• Hy trou met Nerina en uit die huwelik word ‘n seun en twee dogters gebore.

• Hy sluit aan by die Pepkor Groep as Finansiële Direkteur en na ‘n baie suksesvolle kleinhandelloopbaan tree hy in 1987 af.

• Hy gaan terug na die Pepkor Groep en neem die leisels oor as die

Besturende Direkteur (Wêreldwyd) van 1997 tot 1999.

JAN SE SÊ-GOED:• “Kom ons maak ‘n boeresom.” Om ‘n antwoord, gebasseer op beskik-bare basiese inligting te vind selfs al het jy nie al die inligting tot jou beskikking nie.

• “Niks is onmoontlik nie, daar was al mense op die maan.” Die woord kannie bestaan nie.

• “Kry verstand op die werf.” – Kry die vaardiges om saam met jou te werk.

• “Checknet.” Gaan alle belangrike aspekte noukeurig na.

• “Solve a problem by solving it and not by throwing money at it.”

But soon, Booise realised that he found his true calling. The fresh open air, working the soil, learning about pests and diseases …every day became a blessing and Booise blossomed.

Today he is the go-to-person at Bergendal. As Production Manager, he has more than 300 permanent and seasonal workers to manage as well as a whole range of other responsibilities, including the management of 138 orchard hectares and he oversees the orchard monitoring, irrigation, and fertilization of all the production units.

“There is no time to rest here, we harvest 12 months of the year,” says Booise. The enterprising farming entity comprises three farms delivering stone fruit, rooibos tea, wine grapes and citrus – with a dried fruit and rooibos factory on the premises as well. The well-known Carmien rooibos tea brand is produced on Bergendal.

In recognition of the 49-year old Booise’s success, he received the deciduous fruit industry’s Specialist Agricultural Worker of the Year merit award for his exceptional agricultural knowledge and leader-

ship skills. Managing more than 300 agricultural workers and their team leaders to ensure that quality work is delivered, is no easy task. Especially since many workers are only seasonally employed. Booise realised that communicating clearly with the workers, in their own language, was paramount to help ensure success. He undertook the learning of isiXhosa to make sure everyone was on the same page. And over the years, he has completed several training courses to improve his agricultural skills.

Booise is also an active community leader and serves as a trustee of the Bergendal Employee Trust. According to Potgieter van Zyl from Bergendal, Booise’s years of experience, dedicated interest and attention to fine detail are worth his weight in gold. Booise says mentoring young people on the farm is an important part of his work. “I try to teach them to ask when they don’t know something and to grab every opportunity that is given to them. Uplifting people is my calling.”

FROM GENERAL WORKER TO FARM MANAGER

ELISE-MARIE STEENKAMP

Almost 23 years ago Willem Booise fell in as a general agricultural worker on the farm Bergendal on the Paleisheuwel Road near Citrusdal. At the time, it was just another job.

VERVOLG VAN BLADSY 21


Willem Booise loves monitoring for pests.Apart from working with people, Booise’s orchard passion lies in the monitoring of pests and diseases. “I find the crop protection part of my work fascinating. It is a 24/7 commitment. Pests and diseases can literally wreak havoc almost overnight. You have to monitor carefully and regularly.” Booise believes the recipe for

success is starting every day with the Bible and prayer. “At 7:15 we fall in together with scriptures and prayer. It sets everyone up with the right intention for the day’s work.”

om besighede van die grond af te kry. “Daar is net soveel hoepels waardeur mens moet spring. Ons wil die ekonomie groei en werks-geleentheid skep, maar word die heeltyd gekniehalter.”

Dan weer pragmaties, “daar is egter nie verskonings in die lewe nie,” sê hy. “Moenie terugsit en wag dat iets beter gaan word, of dat iemand anders iets vir jou gaan doen nie. Gaan uit en doen dit self. Jy kan nie ander mense beheer nie, net jouself. Be in charge of your own destiny.”

En sy siening oor ‘n gesonde besigheid?

“Alles gaan oor beleid en beginsels wat die toets kan deurstaan. Dit is jou vertrekpunt en die fondamente waarop jy bou. Want as dit sleg gaan of daar probleme is, dan is dit jou beleid en beginsels waarop jy terugval. Dit is jou vangnet. En mense wat vir jou werk, moet hierdie waardes en protokol onderskryf, anders gaan hulle nie in jou besigheid werk nie.”

Hy het ‘n kleintjie dood aan mense wat geleentheidsbeginsels toepas en kreatief met die waarheid omgaan soos elke moment homself voordoen.

Nog ‘n pêreltjie – “tyd is geld” – die wêreld beweeg so vinnig vorentoe en as jy nie bybly nie het jy ‘n probleem, sê hy.

“Daarom is dit belangrik om die regte mense vir jou besigheid te kry.”

En, landbou is by uitstek ‘n mensebedryf.

“Ek dink ek kan mense nogal goed opsom,” sê hy.

“Ek kyk mense goed deur voor ek hulle aanstel, maar ek het al foute gemaak hoor. Ek soek sekere kwaliteite en probeer altyd die beste mense wat ek kan kry, aanstel. Ek gee leiding en opdragte, maar daarna moet hulle aangaan met hul werk. Ek is nie ‘n oor-die-skouer-loer tipe nie. En in my ervaring is dit die beste manier om mense te bestuur.”

Maar mens moet altyd begrip vir jou medemens hê. Hy haal ‘Tannie Grové’ aan wat hom geleer het dat mens nie moet probeer om beter as ander te wees nie, maar “die eintlike pre-stasie van die lewe is as jy vir jouself vandag ‘n beter dag as gister gemaak het.”

Laastens, gevra oor sy gewoonte om net ou voertuie te besit, merk hy op: “Omdat ek nog nooit ‘n bankier gesien het wat bereid is om met die pad af te ry met ‘n ou kar wat die bank teruggevat het nie.”


Pieters, wat op Rietfontein gebore is, het in 2002 daar begin werk nadat hy soos menige jongmens eers die groener gras aan die ander kant van die draad gaan beproef het.

“Ek het sommer gou besef my hart is op Rietfontein,” sê hy. Pieters het in 1999 by die plaas, wat op daardie stadium nog aan ‘n ander eienaar behoort het, ingeval. Hy het aanvanklik sy landboutande op groente- en vee-boerdery geslyp. Toe Rietfontein aan Graaff Fruit verkoop is, was Pieters die besproeiingsvoorman in beheer van die uieplantasies. Nog later word hy junior produksiebestuur-der. En toe, ses jaar gelede, word hy na die vrugteboorde geskuif waar hy eers ‘n pluksak gedra het, maar binne ‘n kort tydjie homself onderskei het. Hy praat met gesag oor produksiekwessies soos sonbrand en hoe baie die droogte hom geleer het.

“Die droogte het ons anders laat dink oor vrugteproduksie. Ons moet innoverend wees, waterskedulering aanpas. Ons moet die natuur respekteer.”

Toe hy na vrugteverbouing geskuif het, was hy onder baie druk. “Ek moes vinnig leer. Dit was ‘n groot uitdaging, maar ek geniet my werk terdeë. Daar is so baie fasette aan vrugteverbouing. Elke dag is dit iets anders, ‘n ander probleem wat opgelos moet word.”

Pieters se pa wat tans in die Oos-Kaap boer het ‘n groot invloed op sy lewe. “Ek het 'n goeie verhou-ding met hom en hy hou my voete op die aarde. Ons praat gereeld en

wanneer ek die kans kry, gaan kuier ek vir hom.” Volgens Pieters is daar definitief ‘n toekoms vir jongmense in landbou. Ek weet baie jongmense wil net stad toe en elke ou het maar sy eie visie oor die lewe, maar volgens my lê die beste werk op ‘n plaas. As jy dink jy wil boer en is bereid om hard te werk, dan kan jy.”

Volgens Wimpie Paulse, menslike hulpbronbestuurder van Graaff Fruit, maak Pieters van elke moontlike opleidingsgeleentheid wat aan hom gebied word, gebruik. “Hy is ‘n passievolle mens wat alles wat hy leer weer terugploeg in die gemeenskap.”

Pieters het ‘n ystere wil, is pligsgetrou en het ‘n besonderse sin vir verantwoordelikheid. As bestuurder word daar baie druk op hom geplaas wat hy met onderskeiding hanteer. Pieters is ook welsprekend met ‘n fyn sin vir humor en tree gereeld as seremonie-meester in die gemeenskap op. Hy is ook aktief as leier by verskeie gemeenskapsprojekte betrokke.

Vir Pieters gaan boerdery oor veel meer as net sy werk op die plaas. “Ek dink dikwels daaraan dat my werk deel is van ‘n groter prentjie. Ek is besig om kos op die tafel te sit vir ander mense. En dit motiveer my. En wanneer ek op die dorp kom en ons vrugte op die winkelrakke sien … man, dan bars my bors van trots.”

Pieters som sy werk so op: “Daar is niks wat kan vergelyk word met die produksie van ‘n Golden Delicious appel nie – dié bome praat met my en as ek net die appels ruik, dan voel ek sommer goed.”Net ‘n vrugteboer praat so.

Elvis Pieters van Rietfontein in die Koue Bokkeveld het die Gevorderde Landbouwerker van die Jaar-merietetoekenning ontvang vir sy uitsonderlike werksvernuf, sterk persoonlikheid en goeie leierskap.

APPELBOME PRAAT MET HOMAPPELBOME PRAAT MET HOM


Sivuyile Panya from Kromfontein in the Koue Bokkeveld received the merit award for General Agricultural Worker of the Year for his excep-tional work ethic and orchard skills. The 31-year

old Panya, originally from the Eastern Cape, started as a general agricultural worker on Kromfontein in 2007. Over the years his incredible work ethic and motivation have impressed his manager and today Panya is a team leader and section foreman. According to Johan van Schalkwyk, Kromfontein’s farm manager, Panya is an all-round, outstanding orchardist. “He was also Kromfontein’s Fruit Picker of the Year with a phenomenal 9 296 picking bags to his credit, despite the drought.” Panya also out-performed his co-workers when it came to pruning. He pruned on average between 55 and 60 trees a day. “That is an incredible achievement when the environmental terrain in which he works is taken into

Sivuyile Panya happy in the orchard at Kromfontein.

A TRUE ORCHARDIST


account. Panya stands out in everything that he does and does everything with a smile,” says Van Schalkwyk.

Asked what his recipe for success is, Panya humbly says, “When I am in the orchard I focus. When I pick fruit, I only focus on the fruit. When I prune, I only focus on the branches.” He believes in discipline and teamwork. “When you work in the orchard you do your own job, but you also have to work as a team.” He doesn’t have a preference for a specific fruit type. “It doesn’t matter whether it is a peach tree or an apple tree, as long as it is a fruit tree!”

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Dit beteken dat die 70 000 ton merk vir rosyne die eerste keer oorskry is, terwyl daar wêreldwyd ‘n vraag na rosyne van goeie gehalte bestaan.

Volgens Dappie Smit van Hortgro kan die toename toegeskryf word aan nuwe aanplantings, jong wingerde wat in produksie kom, bestendige weer-patrone, die beskikbaarheid van besproeingswater en die tendens om pitlose druiwe eerder te droog as om wyn daarvan te maak.

“Daarbenewens verkry boere ook beter pryse vir droogdruiwe as vir wyndruiwe,” sê hy. Dit het ook die Oranjerivier Wynkelders se belangstelling in rosyne tot so ’n mate aangewakker dat hulle onlangs belê het in ’n rosyntjie verwerkingsaanleg naby Keimoes in die Noord-Kaap.

Suid-Afrika se rosyne word feitlik eksklusief in die Noord-Kaap, beroemd vir sy ruwe semi-woestyn- landskap, die Groot Gariep, sy lente-blommeprag, wilde diere, en nou ook rosyntjies, verbou. Sowat 90% van Suid-Afrikaanse rosyne word langs die Oranjerivier verbou terwyl die ander 10% uit Namakwaland kom. Die Noord-Kaap se klimaat bied die ideale omgewing om hierdie klein suikersoet gedroogde vruggies te verbou, wat veral gewild is in gebak en as gesondheidspeuselkos. Die resep van besproeingswater vanuit die Oranjerivier tesa-me met die kenmerkende droë klimaat veroorsaak dat die suikergehalte in droogdruiwe hoog is en dat ‘n kwaliteitsproduk gelewer word, meen Smit.

Suid Afrika is bekend vir uitstekende gehalte rosyne. Die warm Noord-Kaapse son is ideaal om droog-druiwe in rosyntjies te verander en die sonskynweer maak die proses boonop koste-effektief en vinnig. Só word die Thompson saadlose donker druiwe by temperature tussen 40 – 42°C (met ‘n sewe tot agt humiditeitsfaktor) binne twee weke gedroog.

Thompson saadlose royne is die mees algemene rosyntjietipe in Suid-Afrika en verantwoordelik vir ongeveer 55% van die totale produksievolume.

Dit word gevolg deur die gewilde Goldens wat 32% produkvolume lewer. Goldens is egter arbeidsin-tensief omdat dit in die skadu gedroog word en het ook verskeie produksierisiko’s soos swak weersomstandighede wat die produk se kwaliteit kan beïnvloed.

Nuwe kultivars soos Selma Pete, Diamond Muscat en Summer Muscat, wat vroeër ryp word, kry tans baie groot aftrek omdat dit die oesperiode verleng en so die risiko versprei. ‘n Verdere bonus en koste-effektiewe oorweging is dat dit die vroeëre kultivars die geleentheid bied om nog aanplantings te maak sonder om droogfasiliteite ook uit te brei.

Daar is ongeveer 1100 droogdruiweprodusente in Suid-Afrika wat gediens word deur sewe verwerkers en pakhuise.

Volgens Smit bly Europa Suid-Afrika se grootste uitvoermark vir rosyne, met sowat 26% van totale uitvoere wat na Duitsland gaan, gevolg deur Nederland (11%) en dan die VSA (10%).

Droogdruifboere kan nie voorbly met produksie nie, veral omdat dit ook deesdae wêreldwyd as gesondheidskos in aansien toeneem. In Kalifornië, wat ’n baie groot produsent van rosyne is, word rosyntjiedruiwe-aanplantings reeds die afgelope 10 jaar met amandels vervang. Hoofsaaklik omdat amandels minder arbeidsintensief is en makliker meganies hanteer en geoes kan word. Die leemte wat hierdeur in die mark gelaat word bied ‘n gulde geleentheid vir Suid-Afrikaanse droogdruifboere om hul produk in die mark te stoot. Die gehalte moet net ten alle koste gehandhaaf of verhoog word, meen Smit.

DROOGDRUIWE SLAAN NUWE REKORD


Suid-Afrikaanse droogdruifproduksie groei teen ‘n bestendige tempo met produksievolumes vir 2018 wat met 6% sal groei teenoor die vorige jaar.


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The era of big data is upon us. And it is not just a fad, but will colour how we grow and guide business in future, says Carol Swarts Manager of Agri-Hub – the fresh fruit industry’s export data portal.

Seven years ago the fruit industry realised that the manual information system that was in place at the time, did not give timeously, accurate and complete information that was required to make informed decisions about the export markets.

“The shipping reports were always late and the information system just wasn’t good enough for the export market,” says Swarts.

The idea of a centralised database system where shipping infor-mation could be automatically consolidated and appropriately presented gave birth to Agri-Hub.

“You see data in itself is not a magic wand. It’s just part of a path to the business solution or strategy. And in the fresh produce export business a vital tool to ensure profits.”

Simply defined is big data analytics the application of advanced algorithms to analyse data sets containing a variety of data types. The goal is to provide consolidated information as to what is being shipped where to allow the market to decide where best to sell their fruit. There are added benefits of the consolidated data, for example, what size fruit a particular market might prefer. Uncover-ing these hidden patterns, unknown correlations, market trends, and customer preferences, is valuable business information.

According to Swarts' Agri-Hub utilises the many transmission files by the different service providers such as packhouses, the depos, and shipping companies. Previously this information was generated but never effectively consolidated and therefore trusted to be fully utilized. "At Agri-Hub we have created a system to aggregate the information while still protecting everyone’s confidentiality. But the industry as a whole can benefit from the export market trends."

Why is data so important?Market prices largely depend on how much fruit is in the market at any given time, says Hortgro’s Trade and Markets Manager, Jacques du Preez.

“We have to manage the amount of fruit that arrives at a specific port. If we publish a report

stating that we send X amount of plums to the UK market, they can adjust next week’s shipment so that the market is not flooded. That way we can make sure we send fruit where it is wanted and needed.”

“There is a saying in the fruit business, ‘don’t mess with the price’ – and having big data available to aid decision making helps to achieve just that.

“For instance when there is a shortage of fruit or vessels are windbound – with the captured data we know how much fruit will arrive when and where.

When we are faced with challenges like strikes or adverse climatic conditions we can rely on the information and adjust market expectations. With this knowledge, growers know which varieties sell at what price, where it is popular and this will again influence what they will be planting in future.”

Swarts underlined that Agri-Hub only publishes data that is collated at a high level. “That means that we do not publish data at farm or customer level. We keep it general and the main reason is not to give any competitive advantage away. Our information sources need to trust us. And we have to give a service that is worthy of that trust. Also, the collated information pool is huge and in order to make it manageable, we summarise it. The data is near real-time, making it possible for industry role players to make informed marketing and logistic decisions.”

Agri-Hub is a first for the industry and a collaboration between Industry Service Providers and various industry organisations. It is accessible to all growers and members of the joint marketing forums.

According to Anton Kruger, CEO of the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF), exporters identified the need for “shipped’’ information, which is near real-time, a few years ago due to the fact that the inspection data was only available after a relatively long period. “The industry thus got involved with attempts/projects in the past to try and address this need – but without success. The creation and successful operation of Agri-Hub was, and still is, an important value-adding mechanism to assist with marketing decisions. As Agri-Hub progresses, it is foreseen that more opportunities will be identified where Agri-Hub can add additional value,” said Kruger.

TURNING DATA INTO PROFITThe goal is to provide

consolidated information as to what is

being shipped where, to allow the market

to decide where best to sell their fruit.

Agri-Hub is a first for

the industry and a

collaboration between

Industry Service

Providers and various

industry organisations.

It is accessible to all

growers and members

of the joint marketing

forums.



• In 2011 the more prominent fruit industry ISPs (Information Service Providers) and industry representatives started talks to provide the industry with reliable statistics information. The main participants during these talks were Citrus Grower Association

(hereafter referred to as CGA), Fresh Produce Exporters Forum (hereafter referred to as FPEF), Hortgro, Perishable Products Exports Control Board (hereafter referred to as PPECB), South African Table Grape Industry (hereafter referred to as SATI), Dipar, Farsoft, Paltrack and Prophet.

• The main aim of Agri-Hub is the gathering, processing, analysing and timeous distribution of reliable information, with a special focus on shipping volumes to all role-players.

• NAMC agreement was Gazetted on 30 January 2015, making it compulsory for Exporters, Packhouse and Depots to provide there shipping and airfreight data to Agri-Hub.

• The first Agri-Hub reports where made available for stone fruit during the 2014/2015 season; this was followed by pome, grapes, and citrus.

• Agri-Hub is now the primary source of shipping data for these commodities.

• Agri-Hub publishes reports weekly, during the season on its website. Members of participating associations can have access to a live report section from where additional reports can be downloaded.

• If reports are not available in the format required custom reports can be accommodated.

• Agri-Hub is funded by the Hortgro, CGA, SATI and FPEF and subscriptions from interested parties that are not members of these organisations.

• Agri-Hub has two staff members that work out of an office in Somerset West, with a very friendly Rhodesian Ridgeback to welcome you.

• Visit Agri-Hub here: http://www.agrihub.co.za

AGRI-HUB FAST FACTS:


The nursery business was nothing new for the two entre-preneurs, but when they got the opportunity to farm on the land that belongs to the Department of Rural Develop-ment, they needed a cash-cow to help see them through tough times, seeing as the farm had 10 ha of rather neglected plum orchards.

Today the nursery has an established clientele and has created jobs in the area despite considerable establishment challenges. The Jobs Fund contributions to their business have the potential to grow and secure De Fynne for future successes. De Fynne nursery propagates and sells containerised fynbos plants and deciduous fruit trees and Jacky and De Fynne have won several prestigious farming awards in recent years.

“Our involvement with the Jobs Fund was initiated through the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber who saw an opportunity for our industry through the Jobs Fund,” explained Elton Jefthas. “This application was successful and 23 farms who were well positioned to become commercial agricultural units were identified to be part of this initiative. This included De Fynne and the process is being implemented through Hortgro.

“When we started the process our needs were to expand our plum orchards as we have old varieties and many of our orchards had been neglected,” says Jacky. “We wanted to replace old orchards as well as to expand new orchards onto previously cultivated ground. We also wanted to expand the size of our nursery in order to do plant production for the deciduous industry as there is a big need for this in our industry.”

During the past two years climatic conditions have been incredibly harsh and their orchards have suffered damage due to heatwaves, wind and hail. To compound matters the water supply the farm receives from the Berg River is no longer available as the Berg River has dried up this year.

“We have postponed the implementation of some of the Jobs Fund allocations to De Fynne,” says Elton. “We decided to hold back on planting the new plum orchards as allocated to us by the fund until we had done proper research such as soil analysis and irrigation mapping. We have now completed this and to date the Jobs Fund has assisted us to achieve this as well as to implement drainage of the soil where we plan to plant the orchards. In light of the water shortage and climatic conditions this could be seen as a blessing in disguise as we are re-evaluating if it is indeed wise to expand our orchards at present.

“We currently already produce plant material for the fruit farm-ing industry including fig and blueberry seedlings. As there is a need for additional plant material suppliers in the industry, we are considering putting a plan forward to rather focus on expand-

JOBS FUND: "When things get tough, the tough get going."LOUISE BRODIE

Mooikelder Farm is a 22 ha farm on the northern outskirts of Paarl and home to De Fynne Nursery. Here, business partners Jacky Goliath and Elton Jefthas have, despite all odds (including a drought), managed to establish a thriving nursery and produce quality fruit.

Jacky Goliath and Elton Jefthas with deciduous trees in one of the shade houses at De Fynne.


ing our nursery further at this stage, for the making of plum and other deciduous tree crops. We would like to plant our seedlings in containers and sell them to producers in containers to produce an improved product for our clients. Currently many nurseries sell young fruit trees with exposed roots and by establishing the young trees in a soil medium in a container, this will promote better estab-lishment of these seedlings when they are planted out into the orchard. It is likely that this will become a trend in the near future and we would like to be one of the first nurseries to enter this field. We also need additional inputs such as irrigation for the nursery.

“In 2017 the Jobs Fund assisted us with expanding our shade net area by 2 000 m2 and to expand our area under tunnels by 2 500 m2. We also received a soil mixing machine and a fertigation machine for the nursery. At the same time they also assisted us with the soil drainage and preparation for the proposed plum orchards. During 2018 we also received a tipping wagon for soil. We hope to establish mother block orchards of one to two hectares to start producing more deciduous trees. We would also like to establish partnerships with intellectual property companies to produce trees for their growers.

“The farm and nursery currently employs 23 permanent workers and 17 temporary workers. The expansions that have been made possible by the Jobs Fund have already created additional jobs. With our new proposed nursery expansion we could potentially create 100 000 trees over the next two to three years and this is likely to create more jobs than the original plan to plant plum orchards.

“While we are very grateful to the Jobs Fund for their assistance, the accelerated business growth inherent in the Jobs Fund plan has the potential to cause businesses like ours and other Jobs Fund recipients to fail. The fund provides the bulk of the financial input (approximately 85%) through providing services and infrastructure, but the business still has to fund the additional 15% for labour costs. This expenditure was most likely not in the original budgets for cashflow and without the running capital, businesses can very easily use up their reserves and run into financial difficulties. For some of the emerging farmers who do not own their farms, this is a problem as financial institutions are not willing to assist farmers without title deeds as collateral.”

The NAMC recently visited Western Cape deciduous fruit farmersHortgro recently invited the NAMC to visit emerging growers in the Western Cape.

The group visited several of the Jobs Fund farmers. Bonani Nyhodo, NAMC Head of

Transformation said: “We visited about eight farms in two days.

What fascinated me was the visible progress and high hopes and morale of the farmers.

Cortina Farm is a prototype of how other black farmers should approach the business

(value integration). Very refreshing indeed.”

Right: Bonani Nyhodo, NAMC Head of Transformation and Elton Jefthas from the DFDC discussing deciduous fruit farming.

Below: Elekanyani Nekhavhambe.



Through their involvement in the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund Initiative, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Departments of Agriculture together with Hortgro, are showing what can be done when public and private enterprises work together.

The Jobs Fund initiative aimed at creating new jobs and graduating smallholder deciduous fruit farm-ers to commercial status is, in spite of the drought, on track to establish 316 ha of orchards for project beneficiaries by the end of next year and has so far exceeded some of its employment targets by creating over 1 000 seasonal jobs.

Mogale Sebopetsa, chief director of Farmer Support and Development at the Western Cape Department of Agricul-ture, ascribes the initiative’s success to the Department’s commodity approach and successful collaboration between the Department and industry, in line with the Western Cape government’s “Better Together” mantra.

Treasury has granted R60 million for the fruit industry’s Jobs Fund project, matched by an R40 million contribution from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and R20 million from Hortgro. “By pulling resources, such as funding and expertise and using a commodity approach, we are able to better strategize interventions, avoid the duplication of services and ultimately get much better returns on investments that would have been possible if programmes were run separately,” Sebopetsa says.

Joyene Isaacs, head of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, agrees: “Land reform is critical for the transfor-mation of the agricultural sector, and given the expropriation of land without compensation debate, the bigger challenge is how to support new entrants to make a success of their land for farming. I believe all South Africans and sectors – private, public, academic, civil society and so forth – should play a role in supporting these new entrants. The commodity approach offers a model for post-settlement support.”

The Magic of PartnershipsGLENNEIS KRIEL

The Department has been using a commodity approach in most of its empowerment initiatives since 2009 already. Bongiswa Matoti, director of the Agricultural Economics Service division at the Department, says partners in these initiatives complement one another by building on each others’ strengths and overcoming weaknesses in one another’s armour.

“The commodity approach, where the Department works with industries to bridge industry-specific gaps, ensures the Department delivers a service that is in line with industry and farmer needs,” Matoti says.

Isaacs adds that the commodity approach is an admission that government cannot do everything and do not have all the skills to support new farmers: “The commodity approach creates partnership space for all South Africans to contribute, but ensure the roles and responsibilities are clear. In addition, it creates a common agenda and purpose and allows the private and public sector to tackle obstacles and challenges together.”

Felix Hobson, chief director of Entrepreneurial Development at the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture, says that the commodity approach is also reaping fruit for the Jobs SA deciduous fruit projects in the Eastern Cape.

“The commodity approach is definitely the way to go. Farmers get access to excellent extension services from Hortgro and projects are thoroughly evaluated before money is invested in them to ensure their success. The approach is much more commercial than social, which ensures the long-term sustainability of projects.”

An “I can” mentalityCharl van Rooyen, who is one of the farmer support and development specialists on Sebopetsa’s team, sees his job as more than just giving technical advice and support, but also the commercialisation of small-holder farmers by creating an “I can” mentality.

“It is extremely difficult for a smallholder farmer to envisage success when confronted by so many overwhelming challenges. My goal is to equip


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them with farming skills – ranging from production to manage-ment, administrative and marketing skills – and to help them believe that they have what it takes to be successful farmers. Syner-gies through partnerships with Hortgro and other service providers help to strengthen this message and allow us to achieve results that some people previously thought would never be possible,” he says.

The Agricultural Economic Services division at the Department is involved in the project in two ways. Through her position on the steering committee of the initiative, Matoti ensures investments are well-looked after, and through her Market Access Programme, the division is helping the farmers to become market compliant.

“The idea is not only to empower farmers to sell good quality ethically produced fruit locally, but to ensure they comply with the latest international standards on food safety and hygiene, environ-mentally responsible production, ethical trade and such, to allow them to cash in on the more lucrative overseas markets so they can turn into viable commercial farmers,” Matoti says.

ChallengesVan Rooyen identified the drought as a major setback and one of the biggest challenges facing the initiative this far: “The drought has been traumatic for most of the beneficiaries, as orchards that would have been financially viable by 2023 will now only become commercially viable a year later. Producers also had to cope with smaller fruit than usual, which had a negative impact on farm incomes resulting in less money being available to cross-subsidise new orchards.”

The drought also has a knock-on effect on job creation and nurseries. “We could not plant as many trees as we wanted to last year. These trees could not be resold to commercial farmers, as everybody, irrespective of the size of their farms, were subjected to water restrictions. We have tried to overcome this challenge by replacing old orchards that are no longer profitable with new orchards and are taking great care to protect the new and commer-cially viable orchards,” Van Rooyen says. Hobson says that linkages with commercial farmers or businesses helped to significantly reduce beneficiaries’ risks, especially when these partners have a vested interest in the success of the beneficiaries.

Matoti agrees that partnerships with commercial farmers are a great way to empower new farmers, but warned beneficiaries should not become overly dependent on the commercial partners. “These partnerships should be structured in a way that the removal of the commercial partner does not lead to the collapse of the busi-ness. The land reform beneficiary should, over time, be empowered to stand on his or her own feet, so that they would still be able to function independently if a partner leaves,” she says.

Matoti feels projects should run longer than just four years, which is the length of the Jobs Fund initiative, especially with permanent crops that can take up to five years or longer to bear commercial yields.

Hobson agrees: “The majority of beneficiaries do not have sufficient funding of their own or access to loans to help them maintain new orchards until these start to make enough money to pay for themselves. In the absence of funding, older orchards, if there are older orchards, have to cross-subsidise the new orchards placing a huge strain on farmers’ cashflow. New orchards, in the absence of sufficient funding, are then often neglected, with a knock-on effect on production.”

Sebopetsa also identified finances as a great constraint: “The reality is that there is never enough money to do everything we want to, but the Department is trying to partner up with financial institu-tions to help address this issue. It is not enough to give land and trees to farmers, farmers need resources to maintain these trees until the trees are able to pay for themselves.”

Towards a better futureSebopetsa invited other sectors to follow the deciduous fruit indus-try’s example by joining forces with the Western Cape Department of Agriculture to create meaningful transformation: “The Western Cape Department of Agriculture is ready for business. We need more money and partners to replicate our success with the Jobs Fund initiative in the fruit industry.”

His vision with farmer support and development is to use agricul-tural development to grow the Western Cape economy so that no child in the province will ever have to go without food. “With the right partners and the dedication of my team, I see this dream becoming a reality one day,” he says.

Isaacs adds that success is not based on your skin colour, but on the determination to get ahead and use opportunities: “The rules of game and players make a team, but it is a committed team thatmakes the difference.”

Left: Andre Cloete.


This is a wonderful, unique story with a remarkable history of an ongoing relationship between generations of these two families at Mooigezicht Estates. The Van Heerden family’s employment and relationship with the Rossouw family, owners of Mooigezicht Estates, started 53 years ago in 1965

when Mina van Heerden, the family matriarch, started working for the family. For the past 51 years Mina has worked as a domestic worker in the home of Stephanus and Laetitia Rossouw. Today Mina is 87 and still chooses to work, saying that she cannot wait to get to work on a Monday after the weekend!

Mina is the mother of 11 children and several of her children, grandchildren and most recently a great-grandson have been employed at Mooigezicht Estates. Mina was born on a farm in the Sutherland district of the great Karoo. “I was born in the early 1930’s and my parents were farm workers,” explained Mina. “I was the eldest and after Sub A (Grade 1) I had to leave school to take care of my siblings. Our family moved to the Hex River Valley

in 1947 and I worked with my parents as a general farm worker. During my twenties I met my husband Karel. We had a good marriage and he was a good father to our children. He passed away many years ago in 1978.”

Mina started working as a domestic worker for the Rossouw family (Stephanus’s parents) in 1965 and when Stephanus and Laetitia got married in 1967, Mina started working as the domestic worker for this young couple and still works in their home today, 51 years later!

“I am very happy and grateful to live and work here at Arbeids-genot (part of Mooigezicht Estates) and really have nothing to complain about. I have a house in town but do not want to live there. Most of my children and grandchildren live and work in the Hex River Valley and quite a few of them have worked for, or currently work for Mooigezicht Estates. It is wonderful to see my family around me every day and I am grateful for the job opportu-nities that Mooigezicht Estates has provided for them,” says Mina.

A number of Mina’s children and grandchildren also still live on

THE FAMILIES OF MOOIGEZICHT ESTATES

Four generations of the Van Heerden family with the Rossouw family. Front, from left to right: Mina van Heerden, the 87-year-old family matriarch; her long time domestic worker colleague Theresia Madikane; Mina’s great grandson and college graduate 24-year-old Faizel van Heerden who currently works in the Estate packing material division; Maria van Heerden, Mina’s daugher-in-law; Bettie van Heerden, Mina’s daughter and Johanna Baartman Windvogel, Mina’s granddaughter. Back, from left to right: Francois Rossouw with his grandparents; Mooigezicht Estates Chairman Stephanus Rossouw and his wife Laetitia.

Right: Mina van Heerden (centre) with her employers of 51 years, Stephanus and Laetitia Rossouw.

LOUISE BRODIE


According to Agnes Lekhori, right, Administration Clerk at Bellcro - a joint-venture apple and pear farm owned by the workers at Bellvue Farm, the government and Crookes Brothers Limited (CBL), agriculture is something you do today for tomorrow and for future generations.

“Bellcro is a recent business entity in the Villiersdorp valley in a five-year strategic partnership with CBL. The land was purchased by the government and the workers at Bellvue Farm have become the lease holders. Apples and pears from CBL farms are marketed by Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the largest exporter of South African apples and pears. I am very optimistic about the future of agriculture in South Africa. It is one of the few industries that can employ unskilled

and even illiterate people. We have people on the farm who cannot read or write but know exactly how to treat a tree to produce the best fruit,” she says adding, “this is one industry where not having the skill to write, for example, does not also mean a person doesn’t have many other essential skills.” Lekhori is also an Adult Basic Education Trainer (ABET) which is offered on the farm. “We encourage our teams to take advantage of the training offered on the farm which also includes life skills. When you treat people with dignity and respect you have a much better chance of success.

the Estate. The extended Van Heerden family is immensely proud of Mina and joined her at the Mooigezicht Estates offices for the interview with Mr. and Mrs. Rossouw in Mr. Rossouw’s office. The sense of ease, gentle teasing and long-term familiarity between the two families was clearly evident. Mina joked that she was waiting for her employers, who are well more than a decade her junior, to retire before she hangs up her apron. Mrs. Rossouw commented that at 87, after more than 50 years of practice, Mina’s cooking is still superb. Mr. Rossouw proudly explained that during a vocational aptitude test of farm workers with potential for advancement held some years back in the Hex River Valley, Mina’s granddaughter, Johanna Baartman Windvogel scored the top score out of a group of 140. The relation-ship is probably best explained by Johanna. “Our families have been working closely together for many years. I grew up here and saw the family every day and today I work with them daily. To be honest, Mr. Rossouw senior is like a grandfather to me.”

Stephanus and Laetitia Rossouw’s daughter Jeanine Andro added

the following about Mina and her family: “Mina is truly part of our family. She was there before I was born and she is still there now years after I have left home. When I think of her, I think of the most delicious meals and beautifully and meticulously folded washing.

“Mina is trustworthy, loyal and practical. Having had 11 children of her own, she knew everything that there was to know about babies and their problems. She helped to raise me and my four siblings and now keeps an eye on my father and mother. At 87 years of age, she is still in my parents’ kitchen every day during the week, carrying on with her daily tasks. It is a privilege to know Mina and her family, to have learned from her over many years as well as to experience her love for the Lord, her church and her fellow man.”

The remarkable relationship between these two families is unique as it has been forged over decades, despite the considerable political and social challenges experienced. It is an illustration of the commit-ment of the human spirit between people despite the challenges of the times and circumstances.

AGRICULTURE FOR TOMORROW . . .

BRIAN BERKMAN

If you plant an apple or pear tree today you might have to wait up to five years before you see the first fruit and up to seven years before the tree is in full production. This means that money must be invested in land, labour, water and pesticides for many years before breakeven point and even longer for profit. Later, fruit packing and storage needs to be added to the budget.



I don’t want my children to be treated the way that I was so I am sure to only treat people the way I want to be. And, for me, agriculture is all about future generations. This is an industry in which a real legacy can be left. Our hard work today will give us rewards too but will be a valuable asset for our children and their children. When you are proud of what you do, you do better. We want our children to see how valuable agriculture is.”

For Lekhori it is disappointing that children of farm workers tend to leave the farm as soon as they can. “Our children would prefer to be policemen and teachers rather than continue on the farm. This make me sad as we grow the food that people need to survive. What is more meaningful than that?” she asks. As a CBL farm,

Bellcro benefits from access to early-learning programmes at farm creches and community schools.

“We have access to facilities supported by the Waitrose Foundation, for example, and computers and internet access on the farm with an emphasis on up-skilling in maths, in particular, through the CAMI programme.”

Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing’s managing director Roelf Pienaar says that there are so many encouraging and positive stories about the future of agriculture that as a company Tru-Cape makes a special point of finding and sharing them. We are so confident about a successful future for agriculture and food security when we hear a positive story such as this one.”

The showcase’s format was five minute presentations by researchers and students involved in the 116 Hortgro Science projects. The Showcase kicked off with the Crop Protection Programme featuring research on phytosani-tary issues, nematology, soil health, plant pathology, integrated pest management, and precision agriculture;

the Crop Production Programme covering dormancy, rootstocks, and nursery tree quality, irrigation, growing season climate, reproductive biology, and farming technology and the Post-harvest Programme spotlighting quality management, physiological defects, storage techniques, post-harvest decay, packaging/logis-tics and fundamental understanding.

Hugh Campbell, Hortgro Science’s General Manager, said that the event created an opportunity to bring perspective about the research that is taking place. “Many people commented that they did not realise how much work is being done. What also impressed was the package of people that are involved in the research and that forms part of the mentoring process. This knowledge group ensures a flow of human capital to the industry.” Campbell also said that the format of five minute presentations really challenged

researchers to apply their minds and get the essence of the work across. “In the end, we are solving industry problems – that is what our research is all about.”

Matthew Addison, Crop Protection Manager, said it was inter-esting to observe the different groups of people attending the different days. “With this event, we saw a different stream of people that we don’t normally see at our events. That is good.”

Richard Hurndall, Post-harvest Programme Manager, said that the Showcase illustrated the capacity of the research. “It was also an excellent networking opportunity. Sometimes industry players only recognise the research but now they had the opportunity to put a face to a research project. Listening to all the different projects also brought additional insight that one would not normally get by just reading a report.”

Wiehann Steyn, Crop Production Manager, said that the Showcase contextualized the research that is being done by Hortgro. The whole Hortgro Science research programme is a little bit like a mosaic and this was an opportunity to see the big picture and not just a little piece at a time.

HORTGRO RESEARCH SHOWCASEELISE-MARIE STEENKAMP

In an effort to inform interested growers, researchers, and other industry stakeholdersof the scope, context, and content of Hortgro Science’s research offering, a Showcase was recently held

in Stellenbosch. Despite buckets of rain and plummeting temperatures the three-day event was well attended with more than 32 industry roleplayers enjoying the Showcase that will in future feature

regularly on the Hortgro Science diary.



“Thank you for the new initiative. The short and sharp presentations provided insight into current research and the day allowed for valuable interaction with peers as well as the researchers. I hope this opportu-nity becomes an annual or biannual institution targeted at interested growers, advisors, and researchers.” Graeme Krige, Two-a-Day

“It was brilliant. The format helps the researcher to focus their mind to provide concise information which is useful to the industry.” Jaco Moelich, Fruitways

“Die pas afgelope Hortgro Research Showcase was ‘n uitmuntende geleentheid waartydens navorsers hul werk met die breë bedryf kon deel. Genoeg interaktiewe tyd was ook geskep vir vrae en voorstelle rakende die verskillende projekte. Produsente word ook so op hoogte gehou waarvoor hul heffings gebruik word.” Tobie van Rooyen, ProCrop

“I found the event a good way to orientate oneself regarding what is happening with Hortgro/PHI funded research at the moment. The presentations were too short for detail but, after seeing the presenta-tions we are then able to contact the relevant researcher and ask more questions about their work.” Angelique Marais, Fruitways

“I was amazed at how many people I did not know, and they were asking questions. This is good for the industry.” Henk Griessel, Tru-Cape

“Dankie vir gister. Dit was nou regtig ‘n lekker manier om op hoogte te kom van die nuutste navorsing.” Adriaan Theron, DutoitAgri

“Hortgro Research Showcase presentations proved to be an excellent vehicle for communicating current research to tech transfer fieldsmen, which will ultimately benefit our growers, the levy funders. This initiative is another step in closing the gap between grower and current research projects.” Keith Bradley, Fruitways

“Another communications effort to inform the levy payer of where their research monies are invested. Putting a face to a name, was one of the most important aspects of these sessions, giving one a perspective of the depth of research talent as well as the succession that is in place. The five min format, as well as the strict timekeeping, made sure that the presentations were short, concise and to the point and gave a good overview of the project.” Stephen Rabe, SR Consult

“I found the three-day showcase very interesting and informative. Most of the research feedback was relevant and could, if implemented correctly, have a positive impact on our fruit industry going forward. The short five min feedback sessions worked really well and all the research projects were presented very well and professionally! I would regularly attend this showcase and gladly recommend it to my peers for next year. Congratulations to all the researchers and presenters. Keep up the good work and a big thank you to Hortgro for making this possible.” Pierre Rossouw, Stems

FLTR Nigel Cook (Prophyta), Petru du Plessis (Stone fruit specialist and technical advisor) and Carl Hörstmann (Provar).

Students Bonginkhosi Dlamini, Alone Hlungwani and Magagula Meshack at the Research Showcase.

What the attendees had to say:



This was the message from Hortgro Executive Director Anton Rabe to agriculture students last night. Rabe was speaking in Stellenbosch at a function held by the deciduous fruit industry for bursary holders.

“Agriculture as a collective can change this country for the better, that is why we invest in our youth through bursary schemes and by creating opportunities for our students to plug in to openings created by the industry,” he said.

“Agriculture cannot change South Africa alone, and the Govern-ment also has a role to play to ensure a stable policy environment and sustainable economic growth opportunities via improved market access and free-trade agreements, thereby creating opportunities for agriculturists to do business in. The rest is up to us. We need to link you to a job as soon as possible and ensure that you gain experience.”

Hortgro currently supports 31 undergraduate students and 59 post-graduate students with a bursary scheme and research projects valued at R5 m.

Over the past six years 406 under- and post-graduate students benefitted from the scheme at a cost of more than R21 m to the industry – of which R15 m was allocated to post-graduate students linked to the industry’s research programmes.

The bursary funding scheme forms part of the industry levy, with additional support from AgriSETA and the Deciduous Fruit Industry Development Trust.

Rabe said that the deciduous fruit industry has a proud track record of students ending up in the industry in “one way or another” thereby creating much-needed human capital that is needed to ensure the future of the deciduous fruit industry.

Agriculture - key to the future

Left: Post-graduate students Werner Truter and Andrew van Lingen at the Bursary Function. Above: Hortgro Chairperson Nic Dicey (middle) pictured here with students - Chad van Wyk, Sakata Lebotse, Boitumelo Mokoena and Michaela-Anne White.

“Agriculture holds the key to the future of this country. It has the potential to resolveand unlock many of our most pressing problems, such as land reform, food security, job creation, and how to manage climate change, to name but a few. Therefore, I believe you are in the right place at the right time.”


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THE COMPANY ArcAqua designs, develops and deploys patented, environmentally friendly ozone sanitization technology for the postharvest and food processing industries, displacing incumbent chemical solutions along the way. In 2015, we commissioned our first installations at South African citrus pack houses. Since then we have expanded our reach to include instal-lations in North America, South America, Israel and various European countries, in sectors including postharvest as well as fish and chicken processing. We are a venture capital backed company that is in the phase of building out a high potential team to support our global scale-up ambitions.

ROLE: CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER (Postharvest, South Africa)ArcAqua has installations at customers across South Africa, primarily clustered in fruit grow-ing regions such as Ceres, Citrusdal, Robertson, Franschoek, Tzaneen, Nelspruit and Kirk-wood. We are looking to bring on board an ambitious and self-motivated individual into this full-time position to manage our postharvest customer relationships. You will be required to travel extensively, locally and from time to time internationally. This is to enable you to spend the appropriate amount of face time with our customers in the different regions, thereby building trusted relationships. Your primary objective is to help our customers to get the most possible value they can from using ArcAqua’s technology. Your responsibilities will include installing and servicing ArcAqua equipment, retaining existing customers and seeking out new customers. This is an opportunity to become a global expert on the use of ozone as a postharvest sanitization solution. We are looking for an individual with the drive and capabilities to develop, with experience, into an executive role in the company. You will report directly to the CEO.

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Vredelust Farm, one of the Trust’s beneficiaries is situated in Villiersdorp and was purchased in 2013. With the help of the Trust, Bokkeveld Partnership (Vredelust Farm) has been able to

establish an aftercare media centre for the children of the workers on the farm. “This is just the begin-ning, we still want to do so much more,” Cecile Nel coordinator of the project said.

They create an environment where children have the willingness to come after school to study. This specific aftercare centre is aimed at primary school students. High school students are welcome to come and use the resources available such as the Internet, dictionaries and ask the facilitator to help with assignments. This is a safe, tranquil environ-ment for the children to learn and grow. “We feel very strongly about our children and it is important that we enable and motivate them to go study after matric,” Cecile emphasises.

There are four established aftercare centres on the other farms and they are enthusiastic to see the latest one grow. It is a process where the learners’ trusts are gained. Currently, there are six students attending the aftercare centrum daily.

The computers are equipped with the CAMI programs, which are in line with the school curriculum. The aftercare program stretches further

than the children’s computer skills, it also teaches respect and discipline. “It’s a nice place to come to do your homework, the teacher helps us with what we struggle with and gives us more exercises to practice,” Byron Braintjies, a grade eight learner that comes to the aftercare centrum said.

The most reassuring aspect is that the farm workers know their children are safe and in good hands while at work. Ultimately productivity of the workers increases because there is no need to be concerned about their children. Another advantage is the additional family time in the evenings when the children finish their schoolwork at the center.

According to Cecile, the school has compliment-ed them that the learners understand and progress faster with the extra help the aftercare safe space provides. Language development is one of the key focus areas of the program. The centrum allows outdoor activities such as field trips, soccer and on Fridays the learners get crea-tive with art classes.

The facilitator Miss Bianca May says that she focuses on the children’s homework together with the CAMI program to ensure consistent progress. “The after-care centre has a great impact on the kids as well as the parents and gives them the extra security and motivation to achieve the best they can.”

CARE FOROUR FUTURE LEADERS CARMÉ NAUDÉ

Some of the students enjoy-ing the media centre.

The FWDT (Fruit Workers' Development Trust) aims at improving the quality of the lives of the workers on fruit farms.


For most in the fruit growing community the discovery of just one commercially viable strain is a dream. It might be globally unheard of for one man to discover three new strains - each awarded Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) - and in one year.

For Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the largest exporter of South African apples and pears, such a find makes the company more competitive as it has rights to fruit few others can claim. But, for the man behind the find, Buks Nel, a fruit industry veteran this year recognised by the SA fruit industry with an innovation award, and Tru-Cape’s New Variety Specialist, securing PBR for three varieties all discovered in the same year, is a miracle.

“The year 2011 was an annus mirabilis for mutations in my career, finding Bigbucks (the fruit of which is registered as FLASH GALA™ , Fuji Royal and Shortie in that year. Even more, I found both Trufu (alias Fuji Royal) and Shortie as shoot mutations in the same Fuji orchard on the same day! That day was Monday, 21 March 2011. Both had full red colour,” Buks Nel explains.

To date, Bigbucks trees are the most planted variety in SAPO - the plant improvement organisation’s - history. Almost a million Bigbucks trees have been ordered.

“What is interesting is that Shortie is a spur-type variety. In a spur-type, fruit grows on small thorn-like shoots (called spurs), which grow evenly along the main branches”, Nel continues to explain that he is currently experimenting with the optimal planting and pruning regime to produce the most efficient crop. “I hoped to eliminate alternate bearings in Fuji. To influence alternate bearing, I thinned Shortie trees to single fruit, twos and no thinning. So, we will see what sort of cropping

we will get in these three treatments next year. There is one grower interested in planting about 6 000 trees at very close spacing next year.”

Nel explains the process: “As I do with any muta-tion found, I grafted these shoots onto my variety block on Oak Valley Estate in Elgin that August. In 2012 they bore a few fruit and I could see that both these mutations were true which means they look the same as the original. As both Shorty and Trufu (now renamed Fuji Royal) had fruit with full red colour, I decided to continue with only one, Trufu. I continued to have lots of trees made of Trufu. Fortunately I had about 20 trees of Shortie made too. When Shortie started to bear fruit I saw that the trees were a lot smaller than other Fujis and also noticed that it had very close internodes, bearing very heavy crops of fruit that were as red or even better coloured than Fuji Royal.”

Tru-Cape managing director Roelf Pienaar says that in today’s highly competitive environment owning or having shared rights in club varieties - fruit that can only be planted if a royalty is paid - is the holy grail of the fruit industry. “Everyone in the fruit industry understands the significance of a find such as Buks’ FLASH GALA™ and Tru-Cape recognises his immense contribution to the industry as a whole but to Tru-Cape specifically. Tru-Cape, as custodian of these new varieties, is assured of its continued leadership position.” Pienaar ends.

Hattrick year for the

founder of FLASH

GALA™ who now

has two new Fuji

strains tooBRIAN

BERKMAN

Shortie left and Fuji Royal right.

What a loss the untimely passing of Christa Haasbroek is. Christa was a generous supporter of the fruit industry and always a pleasure to deal with in her role as editor of The Fruit Journal.

The Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing family extends its compassionate greetings and sympathies to Christa’s family and friends. BRIAN BERKMAN, Tru-Cape Public Relations

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Live demonstration of e-Certification solution during bilateral meeting between DAFF and the Dutch government, 14 September 2018.

PAUL HARDMANIndustry Affairs Manager, Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africaand Project Manager for the e-Certification project at Fruit South Africa

First Electronic phytosanitary certificates delivered to the Netherlands

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STAATMAKER VALSKODLINGMOTBEHEER WAT SO SLIM SOOS JY WERK. Vir die boer kom elke seisoen met ’n lys van uitdagings. Gewasbeskerming moet egter nie een van die bekommernisse wees nie. Dit is hoekom ons Coragen® insekbeheer ontwikkel het; een van die mees gevorderde produkte vir insekbeheer in die wêreld. Om slim te werk het nou baie makliker geword danksy die vinnige en lang nawerkende Valskodlingmotbeheer in sitrus. Coragen® insekbeheer bied ’n unieke metode van werking met ’n uitstekende toksikologiese- en omgewingsprofiel. Die nuwe wapen in die geïntegreerde beheer arsenaal teen Valskodlingmot en beter vrugkwaliteit verlaag die risiko van afkeurings vir uitvoervrugte na die meeste uitvoermarkte. Beter gewasbeskerming en bewaring van voordelige insekte – dit is mos wat elke sitrusboer wil hê.

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During a live demonstration on 14 Sept-ember 2018 the first ever electronic phytosanitary certificates were delivered to the Netherlands from South Africa. This took place during bilateral meetings

between Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the Dutch government in The Hague, Netherlands. This achievement was a significant first step in moving toward a paperless export certification solution for all markets where “e-Phyto’s” are accepted.

The successful demonstration of the system was well received by the delegates. The Netherlands manually process in excess of 35 000 paper phytosanitary certificates for the SA citrus industry each year alone. The benefits of moving towards e-Phyto’s are numerous but will definitely include reducing the administrative burden associated with having to physically certify and check documents.

A great deal more work needs to be done to de-materialize (i.e. take out the paper) the entire export process leading up to product export

certification. This is the current focus of the development team.

Fruit South Africa has been creating the eCertifica-tion solution with DAFF as part of a Service Level Agreement signed earlier in 2018. The commercial use of the eCertification system is expected in 2019 for the fruit sector with various industries to follow.

46 BEDRYFSNUUS | DES/JAN 2019GEBRUIK PLANTBESKERMINGSPRODUKTE MET VEILIGHEID EN VERANTWOORDELIKE SORG.VOLG AANWYSINGS OP ETIKET TEN ALLE TYE MET TOEDIENING VAN PLANTBESKERMINGSPRODUKTE.

Lonende resultate

Exirel® bevat siaantraniliprool (antraniliese diamied) (Cyazypyr®) Reg. Nr. L10447 Wet Nr. 36 van 1947, versigtig.FMC Chemicals (Edms) Bpk, Posbus 44, Postnet Menlyn, Waterkloof Glen, 0081, Republiek van Suid-Afrika. Tel: +27 12 003 2938.Exirel® en Cyazypyr® is handelsmerke van FMC Korporasie of sy affiliate. Datum: 10/2018.

het ‘n veilige begin

Bemarkbare gewasse in die einde kom van sorg in die begin. Exirel® insekbeheer, met die krag van aktiewe bestanddeel Cyazypyr®, help jou om gewasse op hul kwesbaarste stadiums te beskerm, wat die weg baan tot sukses. Vroeë beskerming beteken uiteindelike beloning.

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The decision to implement a global sulphur limit of 0.50% m/m (mass/mass) in 2020 was taken by the IMO, the regula-tory authority for international shipping, during its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), meeting for its 70th session in London. It represents a significant cut from

the 3.5% m/m global limit currently in place to ensuring shipping meets its environmental obligations.

Regulations governing sulphur oxide emissions from ships are included in Annex VI to the International Convention for the prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL Convention). Annex VI sets progressive stricter regulations in order to control emis-sions from ships, including sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrous oxides (NOx) - which present major risks to both the environment and human health. The date of 2020 was agreed in amendments adopted in 2008. When those amendments were adopted, it was also agreed that a review should be undertaken by 2018 in order to assess whether sufficient compliant fuel oil would be available to meet the 2020 date. If not, the date could be deferred to 2025. That review was completed in 2016 and submitted to MEPC 70. The review concluded that sufficient compliant fuel oil would be available to meet the fuel oil requirements.

Under the new global limit, ships will have to use fuel oil on board with a sulphur content of no more than 0.50% m/m, against the

current limit of 3.50%, which has been in effect since 1 January 2012. The interpretation of “fuel oil used on board” includes use in main and auxiliary engines and boilers. Exemptions are provided for situations involving the safety of the ship or saving life at sea, or if a ship or its equipment is damaged.

Ships can meet the requirement by using low-sulphur compliant fuel oil. An increasing number of ships are also using gas as a fuel as when ignited it leads to negligible sulphur oxide emissions. This has been recognised in the development by IMO of the Interna-tional Code for Ships using Gases and other Low Flashpoint Fuels (the IGF Code), which was adopted in 2015. Another alternative fuel is methanol which is being used on some short sea services.

Ships may also meet the SOx emission requirements by using approved equivalent methods, such as exhaust gas cleaning systems or “scrubbers”, which “clean” the emissions before they are released into the atmosphere. In this case, the equivalent arrangement must be approved by the ship’s Administration (the flag State).

The new global limit will not change the limits in SOx Emission Control Areas (ECAS) established by IMO, which, since 1 January 2015, has been 0.10% m/m. The ECAs established under MARPOL Annex VI for SOx are: the Baltic Sea area; the North Sea area; the North American area (covering designated coastal areas off the United States and Canada); and the United States Caribbean Sea area (around Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands). Therefore, the existing Low Sulphur Surcharge raised by container lines in this case is still likely to be charged.

The effect on the low sulphur regulation is an impact on bunker costs as there is an average global variance of roughly USD250 per metric ton (Mt) between bunker fuel with a SOx content of 3.50% and bunker fuel with a SOx content of 0.50%. Major shipping lines have already disclosed that the formula and method of calculating the BAF rate will change as of 1 January 2019 ahead of the imple-mentation of the regulation on 1 January 2020. In the case where container lines convert to low sulphur bunker fuel, it is estimated that the BAF rate could increase by as much as USD500 per FEU container in the case of reefer containers.

IMO 2020 low sulphur fuel regulation setto radically increase global BAF costs

Char 1: Global average cost per Mt between bunker fuel 3.5% & 0.5% SOx content (Source – Ship and Bunker).

ML BROOKE Logistics Development Manager, CGA

1 January 2020 has been set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as the implementation date for a significant reduction in the sulphur content of the fuel oil used by ships.

GEBRUIK PLANTBESKERMINGSPRODUKTE MET VEILIGHEID EN VERANTWOORDELIKE SORG.VOLG AANWYSINGS OP ETIKET TEN ALLE TYE MET TOEDIENING VAN PLANTBESKERMINGSPRODUKTE.

Lonende resultate


het ‘n veilige begin

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NEW CGA BOARDAPPOINTMENTThe CGA said goodbye to Flip Smit at their Board Meeting on

26 September 2018. His resignation of the Board coincided with his 10 years’ service. Flip was a very important figure on the Board, first as the Audit Committee Chairman and then overseeing the CGA Group’s Finance and Risk Review Committee. His input of policies and financial expertise will be missed.

In Flip’s place as Finance and Risk Review Committee Chairman, the CGA welcomed Rajen Govender, who initially joined the XSIT board in 2012, representing the Technology Innovation Agency and was later approached to serve as the Audit and Risk Committee Chair for the merged RBX Group.

New Chairman, Ben Vorster, presented Flip with a certificate of appreciation and a gift at the meeting.

More recently, Rajen (left) was requested to consider a position on the CGA Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director and to take over the Chair of the Finance and Risk Review Committee.

He is a qualified Chartered Accountant to whom entrepreneurship and self-empower-ment comes naturally. He is a founding shareholder in an Insurance Underwriting Manager, Signage Manufacturer and Property Holdings Company. His is fully involved in each of these entities in an executive capacity.

RESEARCH FACILITIES RETURN TO THE INDUSTRYIn an exciting and somewhat emotional cere-

mony on Wednesday evening, 26 September, Capespan handed over the keys of the Nelspruit research facility and Uitenhage foundation block to the Citrus Growers' Association. CGA would like to thank Capespan for enabling the CGA to take ownership of these important industry assets, and to Tonie Fuchs, Angelo Peterson, Dawie Ferreira and Rowan Vickery for travelling from the “Repub-lic” of the Western Cape to partake in the occasion.

In the 1970’s the Solomon family donated the land on which the present Nelspruit facility stands and it was fitting that Marc Solomon represented the Solomon family and shared some historical perspective of those early days. Piet Smit (CRI Chairman) opened proceedings, with Justin Chadwick, CGA CEO receiving the purchase and sale agreement from Tonie Fuchs. Tim Grout and Paul Fourie gave some interesting information on the workings of the Nelspruit and Uitenhage facilities respectively and Vaughan expressed the importance of a permanent home for the CRI staff. Finally, Ben Vorster unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion (see pic above).


Southern African citrus exports have now surpassed the 2017 figure to hit a record this season, in what has been viewed as a successful campaign. Total packed volume at the end of week 38 stood just over 124 million 15-kilo cartons surpassing last year’s 123 million cartons.

The latest prediction is for 133.1 million cartons against an original estimate of 131.7 million.

LEMONS: Lemon exports from the southern hemisphere countries grew about six percent from around 620 500 tons last year to just under 660 000 tons by the end of week 39 in 2018. Argentina’s shipments grew 13% to 274 653 tons whilst South Africa’s exports were stable; growing by 1% to 281 687 tons at week 39 this year. Timing played an important role in the marketing this year with Spain’s Verna crop being significantly down, allow-ing an early start for southern hemisphere exporters as can be seen in the graph below of shipments

SOUTHERN AFRICAN CITRUS INDUSTRY EXPORT SEASON 2018

to northern Europe. Argentinean exports were hampered on one side by quality challenges but assisted on by a weakening of their currency.

South Africa’s lemon packing volume at week 39 stood at 19.2 million cartons, 1% up on last year and 7% down against March’s estimate of 20.6 million cartons. Whilst the Sunday's River Valley which typically accounts for almost half the country’s lemon exports reflected the national average of 1% growth.

The Middle East and Europe absorb two thirds of South Africa’s lemon exports. Traditionally South Africa’s main lemon export market, the Middle East received only 34% of the export crop this year compared to 40% last year whilst Europe’s share grew from 20% to 30%.

Russia took about 9% of our crop; 25 000 cartons down on last year’s export to this market.

SOFT CITRUS: Soft citrus exports will finish around 17 million cartons this year, up 26% on last year. Satsumas volumes at 2.06 million cartons were 19% up on last year; clementine were the same at 2.83 million cartons; Novas were 39% up at 3.4 million cartons and the late mandarin types 19% up around 6.4 million cartons at end week 36.

The strong growth in Novas and late mandarin

types continues. One of the Soft Citrus Focus Group members coined the phrase “Nova hangover” as the late mandarins were being shipped into the markets. Whilst the overall growth in soft citrus volumes continues, the weekly distribution pattern is also evolving. Whereas in the years pre-2010, the South African soft citrus packing peaked around week 20 and dropped off sharply, the growth in the Novas and late mandarin types see a weekly supply of over 700 000 cartons from weeks 20 to 30.

JOHN EDMONDS


Our easy peelers experience the biggest level of commodity compe-tition amongst the southern hemisphere citrus exporting countries.

The U.K. (28%) and Europe (25%) in 2018 together take over half of South Africa’s export of soft citrus. The UK took 4.4 million cartons in 2018 compared to 4 million cartons by week 39 last year; up 11%. Europe took almost 4 million cartons in 2018 compared to 3.36 million cartons by week 39 last year; up almost 18%.

Both these markets are expected to receive similar volumes to last year. The southern hemisphere collectively, as the chart right indi-cates with Peruvian data only available to week 35. South Africa’s other main soft citrus markets Southeast Asia, North America and Russia each with around 10% share of the South African offering, all took significantly higher volumes this year.

ORANGES: Navel packing volume in 2018 at just over 26.4 million cartons was 26% on last year’ 21 million cartons and under 2.7% up on the March estimate, recovering from the Eastern Cape’s disas-trous 2017 season. The Senwes region had a massive season with 8.7 million cartons packed; up 40% on last year.

Valencias are expected to finish up slightly down on the March estimate of 53.9 million cartons (including Swaziland and Zimbabwe volumes).

The orange export season was marked by a slow start due to significantly higher volumes of Egyptian oranges lingering longer in the markets. Another feature was the delayed colouring of the South African fruit which may have been fortuitous considering the Egyptian situation. It is widely expected that this Egyptian phenom-enon will become a permanent feature of the orange exporting landscape. Once the Egyptian volumes had cleared Navels did surprisingly well in the European markets. The jury was still out on the Valencia season at the time of writing.

Europe and the Middle East are South Africa’s main navel markets, each receiving 26% of the export volume. The other markets received similar proportions to last year. (Southeast Asia 18%, North America 15% and UK and Russia each 5%). South Africa dominates the southern hemisphere orange exports.

GRAPEFRUIT: The Southern African initial estimate of 14.8 million 17 kg cartons made in March fell short as, together with the Zimbabwean and Swaziland contribution, this year’ packed total proved to be a record with over 16.4 million cartons packed by week 38. Moving such a big volume made for an extremely challenging season in the markets. As with oranges, South Africa dominates the southern Hemisphere grapefruit exports.

Whilst Northern Europe remained the major market for grapefruit, taking 70 000 tons in 2018, China saw massive growth to around 50 000 tons as can be seen in the chart above.

Paradoxically whilst the sentiment at this juncture last year was of some apprehension about 2018’s lemon and soft citrus fortunes, these commodities fared surprisingly well whilst grapefruit and valencias did less well.


To maintain its competitive edge, it is important that South Africa continually works towards supplying good quality table grapes to all of its markets. One of

the greatest challenges is probably that table grapes are non-climac-teric fruit which do not continue to ripen after harvest, and which also do not improve during storage. This means that table grape quality will deteriorate once bunches have been harvested and it is particularly important to carefully monitor grape maturation to identify when to harvest.

The consumer perceives quality through visual and organoleptic

perception and these have a huge impact on their buying deci-sions. Visual attributes such as the bunch shape and size can easily be manipulated by the producer through either the application of plant growth regulators such as Gibberellic Acid (GA3), and viti-cultural practices such as the shortening, thinning and removal of berries from the bunch. Manipulating the organoleptic properties such as sweetness related to sugars and sourness related to acids, however, can prove to be quite daunting. This is because these are of a chemical nature (accumulation of sugars and breakdown of acids in the cells) and are determined through specific processes which occur during the different stages of grape development. The level of sugars and acids can only be determined through measur-ing the total soluble solids (TSS in °Brix) in the vineyard through the use of a handheld refractometer and the titratable acidity (TA in g/L) measured in the laboratory with the help of specific equip-ment. Measuring TSS and TA, however, is destructive, slow and may not be completely representative of the whole block seeing that only a few berries of a few bunches in a whole block are tested. In instances where results are inaccurate, decisions can be taken to harvest the whole block and can lead to rejection of grapes for

export if they do not meet the TSS and TSS/TA ratio. Technologi-cal solutions to limit or prevent these losses by looking at ways in which these measurements can be done in a fast, accurate and most importantly non-destructive way, could be used to overcome these challenges – one such technology is near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy.

WHAT CAN NIR SPECTROSCOPY DO?NIR spectroscopy is a very versatile technique that has been used for many many years in a variety of fields including agriculture. It can determine a wide range of attributes simultaneously in different fruit and vegetables. It makes use of light in the region between the visible and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The light with which samples are irradiated can either be reflected (the light beam is reflected from the sample), transmitted (the light beam is guided through the sample) or absorbed (the beam is absorbed by the sample), depending on the composition of the samples. The chemical information (for example concentra-tion of sugars and acids) that is captured in the fruit spectra (that is obtained from scanning the fruit) is then extracted through the use of chemometric techniques such as partial least squares (PLS) regression. These chemometric techniques are complex math-ematical formulas that are used to obtain the relevant information from the fruit spectra (sugar concentration and acid levels) by making use of the Beer-Lambert law. The near-infrared instrument is trained to predict the sugar and acid concentrations based on the reference data that was obtained through the regular measure-ments (making use for example of a handheld refractometer to measure sugars and automatic titrator instrument to measure acid-ity) in the laboratory. The reference values of the fruit is matched with the reference values to build models. The models that are built through this process are evaluated for their accuracy in terms of specific statistics.

HOW DID WE OBTAIN A BUNCH SPECTRUM NON-DESTRUCTIVELY?NIR spectral data of whole table grape bunches were obtained contactlessly by placing each bunch below the four air-cooled

HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTPOST HARVEST TABLE GRAPE QUALITY?

Figure 1: A whole table grape bunch scanned contactless with the MATRIX-F NIR spectrometer.

ANDRIES DANIELS, a researcher at the ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij and PhD student explores infrared technology to measure table grape quality.


tungsten NIR light sources of the MATRIX-F Fourier Transform (FT) NIR spectrometer (Figure 1). After each bunch had been scanned a total of 20 grape berries were taken from within the focus area of the light source (8 cm in diameter). All 20 berries were put into a plastic bag, crushed by hand for one minute and then filtered through cheesecloth to obtain free flowing juice.

The TSS measured in °Brix was then determined, using a handheld digital refractometer (ATAGA Palete Digital Refractometer PR-32 Alpha, Tokyo, Japan). The TA measured in grams/Liter (g/L) and pH was determined by using a TIM 865 Titration Manager (Radiometer Analytical, Villeurbanne Cedex, France) automatic titrator.

TO DETERMINE THE RELATION BETWEEN THE SPEC-TRAL INFORMATION OF THE BUNCHES AND THE CONTENT OF SUGAR, PH AND TAPLS regression method was used to build the models for sugar, pH and TA. What this basically means (PLS regression) is that the reference data that was obtained in the laboratory for sugar, pH and TA is matched or compared with the information in the spectra of the bunch and it is then determined how strongly or accurately these values are correlated with the values that are suggested by the near infrared instrument. When bunches were scanned they were scanned at two positions on “Top” and then turned over and scanned at the “Bottom”. Bunches are three-dimensional and do not have a “Top” and “Bottom” side. This was only done to simulate different positions that data could be obtained from bunches. This was to see how many times bunches would have

to be scanned in the packhouse in order to get the most accurate results for the parameters. Models were thus built with the “Top” spectra alone, with the “Bottom” spectra alone, with the Average spectrum of the two positions and the two spectral positions were combined (“Top+Bottom”). Test set validation was done on the models. Two-thirds of the samples were used to test the models and one third was used to test how accurate the models were. The model accuracy was tested with the root mean square error for prediction (RMSEP) value that gives the average uncertainty that can be expected for predictions of future samples. For example if this value is one in the model that was built and the true value of the new sample that is being tested is 16°Brix, it means that the model will then predict this new sample either as 15°Brix or 17°Brix. The other statistic used was the coefficient of determination (R2) value that represents the proportion of explained variance of the response variable in the calibration or validation set. This value should be as high as possible or close as possible to 100. The TSS model performed best when the average of the spectra that was obtained was used with a R2 value of 76 and a RMSEP value of 0.89°Brix. This was not the case with pH and TA. Both delivered better results when the Top+Bottom spectra was used to build the models (Figure 2). The RMSEP value for pH was 0.13, and that of TA was 0.58 g/L. In the case of TSS the better prediction statistics is obtained due to not only the higher concentration level of TSS present in the grapes, but also due to the wide range over which it is spread (10.175-22.42°Brix). The values of pH and TA are spread over a very narrow range, 3.31-4.07 for pH and 3.2- 7.62 making the construction of a proper calibration model extremely difficult.

Figure 2: Predicted versus measured values of validation samples. A. Sugar, B. pH and C. TA.


Review of other similar work showed that other researchers obtained better results. The reason for this was that they scanned individual grape berries and not whole bunches. Additionally, the focus area of the light was smaller – less than 17 cm, which was used in this experiment. It is thus not only remark-able that the spectra could capture enough of the information in the grape bunches, despite the heterogeneous nature of grape bunches which consists of a rachis, berries and pedicels, but also due the low penetration depth of NIR usually into a sample.

From this experiments it could clearly be seen how high the variability in whole table grape bunches are, given that the best models were obtained either by using the average of the spectra or a combination of the Top and Bottom spectra obtained of the bunches. This is important information for establishing this type

of technology, as careful consideration would have to be made as to how the samples should be presented for scan if placed on the conveyer belt, for example. To achieve the highest spectra quality, grape bunches would have to be scanned in slices over the length of the bunch. In future work the Sugar-Acid and BrimA sensory parameters will also be included.

This will all lead to a reduction in the postharvest losses suffered by producers due to the incorrect determination and classification of TSS and or TSS/ TA ratio of grapes for the export market.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis study was supported by the South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) and the Perishable Exports Control Board (PPECB) of South Africa.

From the technological advances of recent years, to the seem-ingly endless education and support given to up-and-coming farming communities – Santam is close-knitted with South African farming.

Santam is not only the leading agricultural insurer; it does all it can to keep the farming industry moving forward. For over 100 years the insurer has learnt a great deal about farming, and how to make it work.

With an in-depth, scientific approach to protect what is most important to farmers; we offer world-class support, advice, research and risk management. Staff members are well-equipped with technical and agricultural skills to deliver the best solutions, and the Santam research farm in Bloemfontein, coupled with crop specialists, world-class actuarial department, and dedicated underwriting staff continue to enrich the businesses of every farmer we work with.

Johan van den Berg, Manager: Specialised Crop is a sterling example of this expertise. Johan recently recognised by Agri Writers SA as the Free State Agricultural expert of the year in 2017. March this year he also received a certificate as recognition from GrainSA for his dedication to analysing long and short term climate trends, and assisting grain

and oilseed producers with informed production planning.

Gerhard Diedericks (Head: Agriculture) believes that whoever penned “you reap what you sow”, couldn’t have been more right. “The hard work you put in, the partners you choose and the research you do - this is what determines next year’s harvest.

“We pride ourselves on our world-class risk management advice, and the insight and experience we have harvested through the years has changed the way we work with farmers. And, with all of these farming and business expertise, we’re able to support and grow farming in a greater way.”

“Santam care about the future of farming and for over 100 years, we’ve found that sustainability is a skill that should be taught. Through the years we have learnt that the role of a farmer has changed. “Today farming is a fast-paced, high-tech industry run by multifaceted businessmen and women. It’s an industry driven by tech and innovation. We have and will always stay abreast of these technology changes to lead from the front.”

“We will continue to offer innovative insurance solutions and with our specialist insurance solu-tions and the overall Santam value proposition we will keep farming businesses running the good and proper way,” he concludes.

Santam Agriculture’s technical experts help keep the farming industry moving forward

ADVERTORIAL



Netafim South Africa organized a technical tour to Israel for producers and industry roleplayers. The purpose of the tour was to learn more about Israeli agriculture with regards to water management.

GERT MALAN, ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij

Lessons to be learned from Israel’s desert agriculture

Figure 1. Wine grapes irrigated by subsurface drip from the centre of the work row. Note that herbicides are only applied on the vine row.

Geography & Climate Israel is a Middle Eastern country bordered by the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Lebanon. Slightly larger than the Kruger National Park, the country spans 22 770 square kilometres with a border length over 1 000 kilo-metres. Israel has a Mediterranean climate in the North with average annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 700 mm per annum, whereas the South is Arid with average annual rainfall ranging from 23 to 200 mm. Israel is home to over eight million people who consume nearly 1.91 billion cubic metres of water each year. The only fresh water source is Lake Kinneret (The Sea of Galilee), which is fed by the Jordan River.

Water Status Mekorot, the National Water Company, is respon-sible for delivering drinking and irrigation water to the whole of

Israel. This is achieved by more than 600 pumping stations and over 12 000 km of large diameter pipelines, known as the National Water Carrier. Lake Kinneret acts as the fresh water reservoir for the National Water Carrier, and is supplemented by desalinated seawater from the Mediterranean Sea. Desalinated water supplies two thirds of Israel’s urban water use and is in some cases used for irrigation water. Treated municipal and industrial wastewater constitutes 32% of the irrigation water allocated to agriculture. The largest wastewater treatment facility, i.e. Shafdan in the Dan region, recycles 380 000 m3 of wastewater per day. It uses advanced mechanical-biological systems for purifying wastewater. The Negev receives 70% of its irrigation water from the Shafdan treatment plant. Treated wastewater is pumped into an infiltration basin as part of soil aquifer treatment. The aquifer is replenished with treated wastewater from the Shafdan. Water is then abstracted by


means of boreholes, and utilised in the Negev desert. The Shafdan plant is autonomous and powered by methane gas, generated by microbial reactors. The organic solid waste is dried and given free of costs to growers to use as organic fertilizer.

Israeli Agriculture Producing agricultural crops in Israel is quite expensive due to high labour, irrigation water and energy costs. Labour is often imported from foreign countries and minimal tillage is used to cut down on fuel expenditures. Although production costs run high in Israel, the growers are protected by extremely strict importation regulations, which ensures a higher degree of food security for the whole country.

Research Centres visited A number of research stations were visited throughout Israel. The Netafim Orchard and Vineyard research centre focuses on delivering knowledge about drip irrigation technology. The centre also offers training on subsurface drip irrigation, maintenance, irrigation control and fertigation. Wine grapes are irrigated by means of subsurface drip, which is 30 cm below the soil surface (Figures 1 and 2). The reason for this is to minimize damage to the pipes caused by implements and animals. It must be noted that subsurface drip is not considered as a means to reduce evaporation losses. The Israeli growers imple-ment regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) by means of the pressure chamber. They apply irrigation when the midday stem water potential reaches -1.2 to -1.4 MPa. The rationale behind RDI is to keep the grapevine under moderate stress to reduce vegetative growth, which in turn lowers transpiration. It is also suggested that RDI enhances wine characteristics. Interestingly, they only control weeds on the grapevines row to reduce herbicide costs (Figure 1).

The Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) has six research institutes and four research stations spread throughout Israel. The Gilat research station is situated in Israel’s northern Negev at approximately 150 m above sea level. This research

station comprises three main research units for Plant Sciences, Soil and Water as well as Plant Protection, respectively. During the visit, the tour members had the opportunity to learn more about current research projects and trials. One of these trials is an almond nutri-tion and physiology study. Almond trees are grown hydroponically, i.e. without soil, by applying a nutrient solution over the course of the day. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium levels on plant physiology. Although the trial is almost two years ongoing, the differences in growth habit are evident (Figure 3).

The tour also included a visit to the Ministry of agriculture’s research institute in the Jordan Valley. At this particular institute, the local research focuses on soils, irrigation and netting, as well as technology transfer. This region produces table grapes, vegetables and even bananas. In spite of the extremely high salt contents of the soils in the Jordan valley, i.e. around 9 dS/m, table grape yields average 25 ton/ha. However, this is 50% of the production around Tel Aviv. Dan-Ben-Hannah is a favourite and is commonly cultivated with drip irrigation under 50% shade net. The high soil salinity also requires a high leaching fraction, which causes producers to irrigate around 1200 mm every year.

Production sites visited Kibbutz Hatzerim is one of the largest jojoba production sites in Israel. Jojoba oil was originally produced as an industrial lubricant. However, it soon became popular with the cosmetic industry due to its anti-inflammatory properties. The production of jojoba in the deserts of Israel is unique. Due to the mechanical harvesting procedures, the top soil in the tree row and work row is compacted. This is permissible since the rainfall is extremely low and the trees are irrigated by means of subsurface drip (Figures 4 and 5). This particular jojoba plantation is irrigated

Figure 2. Ziv Charit, manager of Netafims Orchard and Vine research centre explain-ing wine grape production in Israel.


Figure 3. Almond trees grown hydroponically in lysimeters. Concentrations are in ppm.

Figure 4. Tour group being addressed by jojoba production manager. For public safety purple pipes indicate recycled waste water is being used for irrigation. Fertigation tanks are buried subsurface to reduce theft.

Figure 5. Jojoba plantation which is irrigated by means of subsurface drip.

with recycled municipal wastewater from the nearby city. Wastewater is often rich in miner-als such as nitrogen, potassium, chlorine and sodium. As for many of the sites visited, the crop is sufficiently supplied of nitrogen from the irrigation water without additional fertilizers. The subsurface drip also reduces the risk of damage caused by wild animals in the area.

Closing remarks Israel’s agriculture is dynamic and strongly supported by their government, as well as their private sector. Although many challenges exist, agro-nomical decisions are based on the specific growing conditions at the time. These deci-sions are often backed by research carried out by specialists in the area. There are many unused water sources in South Africa which can become increasingly important as the demand for fresh water increases. Although there are many difficulties when using unconventional water sources for irrigation, sustainable use can be achieved with proper guidelines.

Acknowledgements SATI and Winetech for funding my tour. Drs. Carolyn Howell and Philip Myburgh for initiating my participation of the tour. The ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij for allowing me the opportunity to gain overseas experience.


Global food trends and the vast market opportunity in China as well as compari-sons between the world’s leading table grape growing countries were presented by three international speakers at the

2018 South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) and South African Society for Enology and Viticulture (SASEV) annual technical information days.

The annual technical information days are held annually in the Northern Provinces, Orange River as well as Berg River and Hex River table grape production regions during August/September. Technical as well as market related information is shared with over 400 farmers and industry repre-sentatives at these sessions.

Prof David Hughes, retired food marketing expert known as Dr Food on social media, says there will be about 7,2 billion people in the world by 2050 with Africa expecting to have two billion people.

Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia are all increasing their table grape imports as they get richer, but if there’s a problem economically they stop. Asian markets look terrific as long as their incomes are growing said Prof Hughes.

He said big growth areas are in China, with huge double-digit growth of their economies, that slowed somewhat over the past three years to 6,9%. India, Indonesia and Thailand are also fast growing at around 6%, unlike South Africa that is creeping along at 1,5% and Europe at roughly 2%.

Chinese consumers are very health conscious and will pay for good quality produce. This is due to many food safety scandals over the years.

Gift giving is increasing and part of the Chinese New Year culture while 50% of gifts is the giving of food. “It is seen as giving health to your family and friends.” The question Prof Hughes asked, is SA seen as source or origin that is considered premium – like say Australia and New Zealand?

China’s fresh fruit imports have grown by 18% a

year since 2010 – SA only has a tiny slice of this, but there is huge potential.

Prof Hughes also said many exporting countries fail to recognise the sheer size of China. The GDP’s of many of its top cities like Chengdu, which is no 10 on the top China Tier 1 city lists which is the same economic size of Norway and double the size of New Zealand. There are many Chinese cities with more than 10 million citizens, which are all potential markets. “You can focus on a few key cities instead of wanting to sell to the entire country,” stated Hughes.

Consumers in China are also very willing to buy food online including fresh fruit and vegetables. The online retailer JD.com and Tmall.com had $23 billion US dollars in sales on Singles Day 11 Novem-ber last year (2017). China is considered to be the leaders in online shopping and innovation with online stores owning well over 3 000 physical stores in several cities.

Mabel Zhuang, the other international speaker from Shanghai in China introduced market opportuni-ties and doing business in China, confirmed Prof Hughes.

“China has a growing middle class which is expect-ed to reach 400 million by 2020. They have great disposable income and are more willing to pay for high quality and healthy food,” explained Zhuang.

Online shopping is big, while Chinese supermarkets are not that advanced in terms of reaching the entire market. “Online is world leading, especially on mobile where most people order, pay and can have their fresh produce delivered within 30 minutes or at some other convenient time.”

Cherries are the main imported fruit to China, followed by table grapes, which have always been the most imported fruit type but decreased by -6,5%.

The overall trend is that grapes to China has decreased while only SA and Australia has increased their exports. SA has a counter season advantage.

CLAYTON SWART provides a summary of the inputs presented at the information days.

SATI AND SASEV EXPAND REACH OF COUNTRYWIDE INFORMATION DAYS


USA, Chile and Peru have all seen a decrease in their exports to China. The USA is in the same window as China’s domestic produc-ers while Chile and Peru mainly have red globe, which is in decline. SA has more new seedless varieties, which China is looking for, explained Zhuang.

Other shorter technical presentations on cultivar choices for the Eastern market were presented by cultivar owners. Water use and water use efficiency was presented by Eunice Avenant, Education Manager at SATI.

Factors that influence berry size and weight of table grapes were presented by Schalk Reynolds, from Philagro. Aspects on manag-ing the cold chain, was presented by Dawie Moelich, Technical Manager at SATI.

Global food and consumer trends In the USA and UK market there are many one or two person households where people tend to eat out because households are getting smaller. This is where grapes do rather well, explained Prof Hughes.

There is a general “time starvation”, therefore people want more convenience.

He said healthy snacking will become huge everywhere in the world. This is seen right across China and every other market in the world.

“The number one global mega consumer trend is the increasing

concern of the health of the family, as well as the health of the plant. Right around the world it is increasingly important for people to know who produced their food and under which conditions. There is greater interest in farmers,” said Prof Hughes.

There is consumer pressure on plastics, which indicates that grapes will in a few years from now be packaged in recyclable or bio-degradable plastics.

Prof Hughes also challenged South African producers on what their point of difference is to global markets. “Are you cleaner and greener, safer, cheaper or tastier? Do you offer better quality, better availability? Are you earlier or later than competitors? Are you more interesting and do you offer a wider range and selection of varieties or products?

The well-known Chilean Oscar Salgado, Procurement Director of San Lucar from Spain, agreed and said growers in the Southern Hemisphere have to work together. “We need to decide where our business will focus. Is it the high-end value niche market or serving the mass market? If we offer high value it means shipping less units. This is where your systems in SA is very hard to change. The world is changing and we have to change and adapt daily,” explained Salgado.

Salgado said, “It is not SA vs rest of the world but SA with the rest of the world.”

Presentations were given by Prof David Hughes (top), Oscar Salgado (far left) and Mabel Zhuang (left).


2018 is a year in which South African olive oil producers truly showed their mettle.

In adverse drought conditions, which can easily lead to bitterness in oils, the judges on this year’s tasting panel described the competing oils as having "a wonderful array of aromas and flavours". This speaks of the industry’s ability to adapt and innovate under challenging conditions.

A total of 93 extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) were entered into the 2018 competition – a slight increase over last year’s 87 entries. The panel awarded 21 gold, 34 silver and 26 bronze medals, which made 87% of the competing oils medal worthy.

According to the 2018 tasting panel leader, Sue Langstaff, “there were excellent oils this year.

People have been saying conditions were very difficult, and some oils had minor issues, but generally most of them were in the silver category and then there were some very good gold oils”. Sue went on to say that South African extra virgin olive oils compare very well with old world oils from Italy, Greece and Spain, as well as with other new world oils from Chile, Argentina, Australia, Peru and New Zealand. She considers new world producers to be more willing to experiment with new ideas.

Nick Wilkinson, Chairman of SA Olive, is very confident about the future of the industry when reflecting on the positive comments by acclaimed international judges serving on this year’s tasting panel. He commented “that despite the horren-dous drought and challenging growing conditions

The SA Olive and ABSA Top 10 Awards

The 2018 tasting panel had a veritable international flavour. Sue Langstaff, sensory specialist from California, led the panel for the second year in a row. Olive oil experts, José Mingo from Chile and Pablo Canamasas from Argentina, completed the inter-national contingency. South Africa was represented by Reni Hildenbrand and Benedetta Lami – both regular faces on international judg-ing panels – and SA Olive tasting panel members, Birgitta Hofmeyr and Hazel Henman.

THE 2018 SA OLIVE AND ABSA TOP 10 TASTING PANEL Hazel Henman (SA); Birgitta Hofmeyr (SA); Reni Hildenbrand (SA); José Mingo (Chile); Benedetta Lami (SA); Sue Langstaff (USA - panel leader); Pablo Canamasas (Argentina).

Oils were individually blind tasted and rated over a period of four days. Blue hued glasses, shaped to create the best sensory experi-ence, were used in an environment that

was temperature controlled, as well as devoid as possible of any interfering environmental factors. All participating oils were locally produced by SA Olive members.

SA OLIVE AWARDS: SA’S top olive oils


our growers have once again produced world quality premium oils. Competitions like the SA Olive Awards and the ABSA Top 10 Awards not only shine a light on the skills of SA olive oil producers, they also encourage South African and international consumers to buy locally produced extra virgin olive oils. The industry has shown itself to be forward thinking and innovative in all aspects of production.

If Government triggers their development plan, which recognises the upside this industry has in job creation and import substitution, we could play a positive role in addressing the very real problems facing our country.”

SA OLIVE AWARDS GOLD MEDAL WINNERSFRONT (LTR): Nick Wilkinson (Rio Largo Olive Estate), Willie Duminy (Porterville Olives), Jan Hendrik Basson (Porterville Olives), Daniel Munzvenga (Zoetigheyd Farms), Leana Stevens (Olyfberg Vrugte), Nico Loubser (Morgenster Wine and Olive Estate).

MIDDLE (LTR): Chris van Niekerk (Mardouw Olive Estate), Alexis Kearney (Lapithos Olive Growers), Lizelle Joubert (Oakhurst Olives), Joop Steenkamp (De Rustica Estates).

BACK (LTR): Peter Unite (Zoetigheyd Farms), Bob Hobson (L’Ormarins), Bryan Beverley (L’Ormarins), Sandy Jeffery (Diepsak Farm), Pieter du Toit (Oakhurst Olives), Gert van Dyk (Tokara), Philip King (Mardouw Olive Estate), Perry Chaloner (Chaloner), Pieter Coetsee (Marbrin Farm), Briony Coetsee (Marbrin Farm), Clive Heymans (Marbrin Farms).

AND THE SA OLIVE 2018 TOP HONOURS GO TO…

THE GOLD MEDALLISTS IN THE DELICATE EVOO CATEGORY

are Rio Largo Olive Estate, Tokara, Diepsak Farm, and Olyfberg Vrugte.

GOLD IN THE MEDIUM EVOO CATEGORY goes to Zoetigheyd Farm, L’Ormarins, Namaqua Olives, Chaloner, De Rustica

Estates, Lapithos Olive Growers, Mardouw Olive Estate, Morgenster Wine & Olive

Estate, Oakhurst Olives and Serrado Olive Estate.

THE INTENSE EVOO CATEGORY GOLD winners are Marbrin Farm, Mardouw Olive

Estate and Porterville Olives.

MULTIPLE GOLD WINNERSare Zoetigheyd Farm (3), L’Ormarins (2),

Namaqua Olives (2) and Mardouw Olive Estate (2).

The full lists of silver and bronze winners are available at www.saolive.co.za

SA OLIVEMENTORSHIP AWARDS 2018

The top accolade in the SA Olive mentorship programme, the Mentorship Award, went to

Theresa Slinger from Olyven-bosch. Theresa’s supervisor, Niel Botha praised Theresa’s growth

and feels confident to slot her into any senior position on the farm. “She is the type of person I will go to war with,” he said. The SA Olive mentorship programme is

in its eleventh year of developing and nurturing young talent in the

olive industry.

Theresa Slinger receiving theaward from Anida de Villiers.


Congratulating the finalists and winners - John Tshabalala, Absa’s Head of Relationship Banking, Western Cape, says the group is proud to partner with the SA Olive Association in presenting these important and prestigious industry awards.

“On behalf of Absa, I extend heartfelt congratulations to this year’s outstanding winners in the Absa Top 10 Olive Oil competition. We wish all the trophy winners great success on their olive oil making journey and hope they continue to prosper in local and international olive oil markets”, he says.

“We are proud to have been part of the SA olive oil journey over the past six years, and we look forward to many more years together. Absa remains committed to promoting the uniquely and proudly South Afri-can extra virgin olive oils. Our continued involvement with and support of this competition is driven by our confidence in the South Africa extra virgin olive oil producers. These producers are working hard to increase the prestige and sophistication of olive oil produced in South Africa.”

FARM NAME OF OIL

DELICATE CATEGORYRIO LARGO OLIVE ESTATE RIO LARGO GOLD EVOO

TOKARA TOKARA MISSION EVOO

OLYFBERG VRUGTE OLYFBERG EVOO BLEND A

MEDIUM CATEGORYDE RUSTICA ESTATE ESTATE COLLECTION FRANTOIO

SERRADO OLIVE ESTATE SERRADO EVOO

OAKHURST OLIVES OAKHURST EVOO

ZOETIGHEYD FARMS ZOETIGHEYD DANIEL’S DELISH

INTENSE CATEGORYMARDOUW OLIVE ESTATE MARDOUW XXV INTENSE

PORTERVILLE OLIVES ADANTE INTENSO

MARBRIN FARMS DIRECTORS RESERVE EVOO

THE ABSA TOP 10 OILS ACCORDING TO THEIR TASTE PROFILES ARE:

ABSA AWARDS THE TOP OLIVE OILS IN SAAbsa has recognised and awarded top locally produced extra virgin olive oils since 2013.

Being an Absa Top 10 winner is a remarkable achievement for winning producers and an award in thiscompetition is confirmation that their oils are of the highest quality.


ABSA TOP 10 WINNERSBACK: Anthony Ayling (Absa), John Tshabalala (Absa). MIDDLE: Julian De Freitas (Serrado), Chris van Niekerk (Mardouw Olive Estate), Andre Lourens (Olyfberg-Vrugte), Gert van Dyk (Tokara Estate), Pieter du Toit (Oakhurst Olives). FRONT: Joop Steenkamp (De Rustica Estate), Nick Wilkinson (Rio Largo Estate), Daniel Munzvenga (Zoetigheyd Farms), Briony Coetzee (Marbrin Farm), Jan Hendrik Basson (Porterville Olives).

South African extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) made a clean sweep of all nine the coveted medals in the 5th edition of the Sol d’Oro Southern Hemisphere olive oil competition. Sixty-two Southern Hemi-

sphere EVOOs entered the competition and were blind tasted by an international panel of olive oil experts from Italy, Spain, Chile, Peru, Greece and South Africa.

During the first round of tasting the oils are allocated to the three sub-categories of fruity/delicate, or fruity/medium, or fruity/intense. The next tasting rounds go on to select the top 10 in each category and are then whit-tled down to the top five in each category. In the final round the top three oils for each category are awarded with the Sol d’Oro (gold), the Sol d’agento (silver) and the Sol di bronzo (bronze) medals. A legal representative, who changes the coding of the oils for each tasting, monitors the entire process. The newly instated prize for the overall top-performing producer, the ‘Giulio Bertrand Special Prize’, was awarded to De Rustica Estate.

The Sol d’Oro competition was initially set up to promote and raise global awareness for extra virgin olive oils. It has since gone on to become a landmark event for producers of high quality extra virgin olive oils, as well as a selection platform for international buyers. Both the Southern Hemisphere competition and its Northern Hemisphere counterpart are organised by Veronafiere-Sol and Agrifood.

MEDAL FARM NAME OF OIL

DELICATE CATEGORYSOL D’ORO RIO LARGO OLIVE ESTATE RIO LARGO GOLD

SOL D’ARGENTO DIEPSAK FARM GREEN AND GOLD PREMIUM

SOL DI BRONZO TOKARA TOKARA PREMIUM

MEDIUM CATEGORYSOL D’ORO SERRADO OLIVE ESTATE SERRADO

SOL D’ARGENTO DE RUSTICA ESTATE ESTATE COLLECTION FRANTOIO

SOL DI BRONZO OAKHURST OLIVES OAKHURST MEDIUM

INTENSE CATEGORYSOL D’ORO DE RUSTICA ESTATE ESTATE COLLECTION CORATINA

SOL D’ARGENTO DE RUSTICA ESTATE ESTATE COLLECTION FAVOLOSA

SOL DI BRONZO WILDEKRANS TRUST KEERWEER

SOL D’ORO SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE OLIVE OILCOMPETITION WINNERS IN EACH CATEGORY:

International acclaim for SA olive oils


WHAT IS SO CATCHY ABOUT POMEGRANATE PRODUCTION NOWADAYS?

Bioactive compounds and phytochemicals in pomegranates:Phytochemicals and bioactive compounds produced by the pome-granate tree include sterols and terpenoids in the bark, leaves and seeds, alkaloids in the bark and leaves, some organic acids, flavonols, anthocyanin and anthocyanidins in the leaves, rind, fruit, bark and juice (Holland and Bar-Ya´akov, 2008). Nearly all parts of the fruit can be utilized. The edible part called arils contains juice which is mainly 85% water, approximately 10% sugars (mainly fructose and glucose), ascorbic acid, vitamins, organic acids, antioxidants, polysaccharides, polyphenols, anthocyanins and essential minerals (Roy and Waskar, 1997; Al-Maiman and Ahmad, 2002). Pomegranate has high content of polyphenols including ellagitannins and ellagic acid. During juice processing, ellagitannins are released into pomegranate juice in significant levels. Ellagitannins are hydrolyzed to ellagic acid in the gut (Turrini et al., 2015). The antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice was reported to be three times that of green tea or wine (Gil et al., 2000). The peel is a rich source of natural antioxidants and has been used in the Middle East as a colourant for textiles due to its high tannin and phenolic content (Li et al., 2006; Al-Said et al., 2009). Pomegranate seeds are rich in lipids, which are mainly polyunsatu-rated (n-3) fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acid. Other lipids such as oleic, punic and stearic acid are also present in the seeds (Ozgul-Yucel, 2005; Fadavi et al., 2006; Aindongo, 2014). Pomegran-ate seed oil content is about 12 - 20% of total seed weight (Aviram et al., 2000; Fadavi et al., 2006). Seeds are also a vital source of crude

fibres, pectin, and sugars (Aviram et al., 2000). Cultivar, cultivation practices as well as environmental factors under which the pome-granate tree grows, are largely responsible for the differences in the amount of chemical compounds contained in the tree and fruit (Holland and Bar-Ya´akov, 2008).

Health, pharmacological, functionaland cosmetic properties:The potential of the crop to prevent and limit disease risk in humans has led to global commercial pomegranate fruit produc-tion, consumption and research. It has tremendous health, nutritional, pharmacological, functional and cosmetic properties. In medicine, the pomegranate fruit is widely used in therapeutic formulas. Pomegranate has been in use since the ancient times to treat several diseases. In folk medicine, pomegranate was used as an antipyretic, anthelmintic and vermifuge, and to treat and cure aphthae, ulcers, diarrhoea, acidosis, dysentery, haemorrhage, microbial infections, and respiratory pathologies (Vidal et al., 2003; Larrosa et al., 2010; Lee et al., 2010; Viuda-Martos et al., 2010). In India, the pomegranate is usually mentioned as an ingredient in remedies in the ancient Ayurveda system of traditional medicine.

Recent scientific findings corroborates traditional usage of the pomegranate as a medical remedy and indicate that the fruit, flowers, bark, and leaves contain bioactive phytochemicals that are antimicrobial, reduce blood pressure, and act against serious diseases such as diabetes and cancer (Holland et al., 2009). The possibility of pomegranate to control the HIV pandemic was also reported (Neurath et al., 2004). These findings have spurred a higher awareness and interest of consumers to the benefits of the

NIKE LEWU1, THERESA VOLSCHENK1 AND RECKSON MULIDZI1

1ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch | For correspondence: [email protected]: The authors thank the Agricultural Research Council.

OLD CROP IN FASHION AGAIN

Pomegranate is a fruit with a rich history. It is native to the Himalayas in North India and Iran, but has been cultivated and naturalized since

ancient times over the entire Mediterranean region (GLOZER AND FERGUSON, 2008). It is widely cultivated in Iran, India, the more arid regions of

Southeast Asia, Mediterranean countries, the East Indies, Malaysia and tropical Africa. Other production areas include China, Japan, Russia and

the drier parts of California and Arizona in the United States. Currently, Iran is the world’s largest producer, with over one million tonnes annual

production of pomegranate fruit (Islamic Republic News Agency, 2015; The Daily Records, 2018). No reliable data are available on the exact area

cultivated in the world due to a rapid increase in production and expansion. However, it was estimated that about three million tonnes of pome-

granate fruit is produced in the world annually. Pomegranate is an emerging crop in South Africa, grown for both local consumption

and for export. It is consumed as fresh arils, juice and other processed products.


pomegranate fruit as food and medical remedy. As consumers are becoming more aware of pomegranate as a healthy choice, more

people are choosing the fruit and its products as a delicious addi-tion to a healthy diet.

Cosmetic pomegranate products are becoming more popular in the market. They are suitable for all skin types and in high demand especially among women. Creams, body butters, body polishes, lotions and makeup are some of the available products.

Hardiness:Pomegranate can be cultivated where other fruit trees will not grow well due to its tolerance of adverse growing conditions such as drought and a hot and dry climate. It can grow and produce successfully in several regions and on a wide range of soils includ-ing calcareous and saline soils. Pomegranate tolerates moderate soil salinity due to the ability of its root system to accumulate the majority of toxic salts absorbed from the soil and thus prevent their transport to the above-ground organs (Levin, 2006; Marathe et al., 2009). However, salt tolerant ability is cultivar dependent. Accumu-lation of salts, in excess of 0.5% of the soil mass causes dying off of growing roots (Chandra et al., 2010). Effects of salt stress on plants depend on the concentration and period of exposure to salt, plant genotypes and environmental factors.

Religious and traditional myths or beliefs:As an ancient fruit, the pomegranate and its usage are deeply embedded in human history. Its existence is woven in many reli-gious beliefs and rituals, including its symbol of life, health, wealth,

fertility, abundance, spirituality, morality and longevity. It is also a symbol of immortality in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism (Mahdihassan, 1984). To the Babylonians, the pomegranate seeds were regarded as an agent of resurrection, the Persians believed the seeds conferred invincibility on the battle fields. Ancient Chinese saw the seeds as a symbol of longevity and immortality (Aviram et al., 2000). It is therefore not surprising that this fruit was used for medicinal purposes throughout history seeing that many religions hailed it as a beneficial or sacred fruit.

Culinary use:Pomegranate can be consumed fresh either as fruit or juice on its own or as fruit salad or used in the food processing industries. When processed, it is used for fruit juice, jelly, syrup, jam, paste, sweets, cream cake, citric acid, vinegar, molasses, food seasonings, flavouring and other industrial processed products such as food colourants, tannins for leather and wines (Fadavi et al., 2005; Yazici and Sahin, 2008; Mousavinejad et al., 2009; Caleb et al., 2012; Zaouay et al., 2012). It is widely used in many traditional soups, dishes and sauces and may also be used as spice. The sauce may be used as salad dress-ing, to marinate meat, as garnish for desserts etc.

Aesthetic value:In some countries, pomegranate fruits are used as decoration in fruit bowls. The whole plant can also be of ornamental interest where it is planted for its aesthetic values. Many people grow pomegranates not only for their fruits but also for their flowers, thus making them suitable for landscaping and as decoration. Because of its decorative value, pomegranate is used in land-scaping as an ornamental tree or allowed to form a very thick and beautiful hedge.

Orchard of pomegranate trees with mature fruits and belowharvested pomegranate fruits.



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Zaouay, F., Mena, P., Garcia-Viguera, C., Mars, M. 2012. Antioxidant activity and physico-chemical properties of Tunisian grown pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars. Ind. Crops Prod. 40, 81-89.

67DEC/JAN 2018 | TECHNOLOGY CRI


Kontak Johan Wiese of Andrew Teubes:Tel: 021 864 1018 Faks: 021 864 3689 e-pos: [email protected] www.vgnurseries.co.za

SUKSES WORD GEKWEEK

Voor-Groenberg Kwekerye het die kennis, integriteit en ondersteuning wat verseker dat jou belegging in die beste plantmateriaal vir wyn-, droog en

tafeldruiwe, ruim dividende sal betaal.

dit kom nie vanself nie

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VGN_SAVrugteJoernaal_Afrik_Apr2015_v1.pdf 1 2015/04/09 9:49 AM


Kontak Johan Wiese of Andrew Teubes:Tel: 021 864 1018 Faks: 021 864 3689 e-pos: [email protected] www.vgnurseries.co.za

SUKSES WORD GEKWEEK

Voor-Groenberg Kwekerye het die kennis, integriteit en ondersteuning wat verseker dat jou belegging in die beste plantmateriaal vir wyn-, droog en

tafeldruiwe, ruim dividende sal betaal.

dit kom nie vanself nie

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

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VGN_SAVrugteJoernaal_Afrik_Apr2015_v1.pdf 1 2015/04/09 9:49 AM

The Citrus Short Course is a high-level programme aimed at those who already have a basic understanding of agricul-

tural production practices and needs to expand their understanding of citrus production. The programme covers all aspects of citrus production, including the history of the industry, the roles of

industry organisations, citrus production practices, and the citrus export value chain. The course is implemented in the form of a regional workshop over three days of which one day is dedicated to a field visit.For more information on the Citrus Short Course and to register, please visit www.citrusacademy.org.za

The Citrus Academy’s Industry Exposure Programme provides Citrus Academy Bursary Fund students with opportunities

to gain exposure at conferences, symposiums and other events related to their fields of study.

August was a very busy month for our students with PMA Fresh Connections and the Citrus Research Symposium.

Ten Bursary Fund students were among the 500 delegates who attended the 8th Annual PMA Fresh Connections: South Africa Conference and Trade Show, which was held at the CSIR Convention Centre in Pretoria. The theme of the event was

‘Connect Local, Grow Global’. Students gained invaluable experience networking with industry leaders. The students took part in the Career Pathways programme which was sponsored by the AgriSETA.

Eleven Bursary Fund students attended the 10th Citrus Research Symposium, held at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg. It was proudly #goteamcitrus throughout the symposium, seeing past and present Citrus Academy students in the speaker line-up amongst the guests and working within CRI. As always, our students made a big impact with their branded T-shirts and lively presence.

The Citrus Academy launched theCitrus Short Course in October this year

Equip: Learning from the bestCitrus Academy students at PMA Fresh Connections with Jacomien de Klerk of the Citrus Academy.

P.O. Box 461, Hillcrest, 3650

Tel: 031 765 3410

Fax: 086 546 7808

[email protected]

72 TEGNOLOGIE HORTGRO | DES/JAN 2019

73DEC/JAN 2019 | TECHNOLOGY HORTGRO

EXTENSION BRIEFSFOR DECEMBER '18 & JANUARY '19INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENTFalse codling moth S.D. MOOREThe FCM Management System (FMS) for citrus, including the FCM Systems Approach, was imple-mented for the first time during the 2017/18 citrus season, with tremendous success. We can however, not rest on our laurels and we need to use the opportunity we have of FCM being suppressed to a very low level, to keep it at this low level, or supress it even further. Consequently, there must be no compromise on diligent implementation of all important FCM control measures.

The details of all of these practices are described in the FMS, with reference to CRI’s IPM Guidelines for FCM Management (available on the CRI website). These Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) must be followed as described.

Remember #1: Orchard sanitation MUST be conduct-ed at least weekly in all orchards, including lemons. This involves not only collecting and destroying fallen fruit, but also removing all hanging fruit after the harvest period or fruit which in anyway appear damaged or infested. It has been shown that such a practice can effectively remove an average of up to 75% of FCM larvae from an orchard. In the hotter months of summer, orchard sanitation should be increased to twice per week in order to have the same effect.

Remember #2: The use of any “harsh” or disruptive products more than four weeks after petal fall can have a devastating impact on FCM egg parasitoids, leading to elevated levels of FCM infestation in fruit (see Cutting Edge 124).

Mealybug S.D. MOOREApart from the obvious pest status of mealybug, it is also important to control this pest as it can attract carob moth and increase infestation of this pest. Growers should be scouting for mealybug regularly, by inspecting underneath calyxes and thereby determining percentage of fruit infested. The most effective way of doing this is to break the fruit off from the calyx. Both the fruit and the underside of

the calyx should then be inspected. Where mealybug is under good biocontrol, infestation should peak during December in the northern production areas and during January in the Cape production areas. If mealybug infestation does not decline during early January and late January to early February respec-tively, suppression with a chemical treatment is advisable on early maturing cultivars. Unfortunately, buprofezin can no longer be used at this stage, due to residue restrictions. However, there are a couple of relatively new options that can now also be used correctively for mealybug i.e. sulfoxaflor and fenpy-roximate (as registered). In addition, it is crucial that a full cover film spray be applied.

Augmentative releases of parasitoids Coccidox-enoides perminutus (which is only effective against citrus mealybug) and Anagyrus sp nr pseudococci (which appears to attack more mealybug species than just the citrus mealybug) should be initiated as early in the season as possible for optimal efficacy. The phytosanitary status of certain species must also be borne in mind.

Citrus Thrips M. GILBERTThrips can still cause damage in December on citrus fruit, particularly in hotter production areas such as the Lowveld and on later-flowering cultivars such as Valencias, whose fruit are still relatively small at this time of year. Scouting should therefore continue to be carried out at least twice a week, in order to prevent a build-up of numbers and avoid possible late damage known as “scribbling” or “browning” on the sides of the fruit. Thrips control materials applied at this time of the year should preferably not have a long residue so that the activity of mealybug and scale parasitoids is not disturbed too much. From January, the chance of thrips damage declines with increasing fruit size but one should still be vigilant.

CITRICULTUREO.P.J. STANDER AND P.J.R. CRONJEFruit growth and sizeCitrus fruit development is divided into three

J.J. BESTERM.C. PRETORIUSW. MOMMSEN

J.J. Bester CRI

M.C. Pretorius CRI

Wayne Mommsen CRI

74 TEGNOLOGIE CRI | DES/JAN 2019

distinctive development phases and fruit growth follows a sigmoidal curve. Phase I of fruit development (end of October – December) spans from full bloom until the end of December, and is characterized by cell division and the formation of the majority of the total cellular structures of the fruit. During this period, the majority of the fruit diameter comprises the rind. In phase II (Janu-ary – March), the different sections of the fruit pulp volume increase substantially and make up most of the fruit diameter until harvest. The biggest increase in fruit diameter occurs in summer, and very little to no increase in phase III, as temperatures decrease from autumn until fruit harvest (April – August), in phase III. Fruit growth during this period of fruit development is important to achieve optimal size at harvest and an individual factor or a combination of factors that are sub-optimal e.g. irrigation or ambient temperature may be responsible for small fruit size. All the factors influencing fruit size should be considered and managed optimally and it is recommended that Cutting Edge no. 103 or Chapter 5-8 in the CRI Production guidelines (Vol. II, www.citrusres.com/category/chapter-5-crop-manipulation) should be used for a revision of the various lemon fruit size management strategies.

Fruit size and crop load prediction should commence after the physiological fruit drop period. Fruit size is inversely related to flower number and eventual fruit load. In contrast to fruit set treatments such as girdling and foliar sprays of GA3, producers can make use of various thinning practices to control flower intensity and eventual crop load. Except for hand thinning, foliar applications of synthetic auxins are particularly successful in this regard, and are used to reduce fruit load in an “on” year, and increase final fruit size. A reduc-tion in the number of flowers will reduce the eventual percentage fruit set, reduce the inter-fruit competition and increase fruit size. Fruit from trees bearing small yields experience increased growth rate. At high fruit loads increased inter-fruit competition for nutrients and water, especially during the early stages of fruit development, lead to a decrease in potential fruit size. Please refer to Chapter 5-7 in the CRI Production guidelines (Vol. II, www.citrusres.com/category/chapter-5-crop-manipulation) “Fruit size and crop load prediction for citrus” or in the SA Fruit Journal of Oct/Nov 2009 for details on how these predictions can be made.

Regrowth control, especially after heavy pruning earlier in the season, should commence as regrowth adversely affects fruit size and is antagonistic to fruit colour development, especially for early

maturing cultivars.

Creasing: Gibberellic acid (GA) is applied in January to reduce the

incidence of creasing, however it should be noted that improper timing of GA delays colour development. When applying GA ensure that the side of the fruit facing inwards is also covered by the GA, as this part of the fruit is more prone to creasing. The incidence of creasing could also be promoted by a heavy fruit set.

Oleocellosis incidence: Late summer vegetative growth of bearing trees should be kept to a minimum as excessive vegetative vigour during this period is associated with high incidence of oleocellosis at harvest.

Rind colour development: Late nitrogen application and the use of high concentration, heavy summer oil sprays after December should be avoided as these treatments are antagonistic to rind colour development. In addition, GA treatment to reduce creasing incidence is also antagonistic to colour development and could reduce colour development if applied later than middle January.

PESBEHEERGRONDGEDRAAGDE SIEKTES J. VAN NIEKERK EN M.C. PRETORIUSPhytophthora beheer Alhoewel redelike goeie reënval gedurende Desembermaande voorkom, is Januarie en Februarie maande gewoonlik droër en die dagtemperature heelwat hoër. Daarom die waarskuwing dat indien van fosfonate gebruik gemaak gaan word om Phytophthora-wortelvrot te beheer, die middels met sorg en volgens gebruiksaanwysings toegedien moet word. Wat van uiterste belang is, is dat die middels nie gespuit behoort te word nie indien dagtemperature hoër as 28°C is, of die bome onder enige mate van droogte- of hittestres verkeer nie. Geen bespuitings moet gedoen word indien enige warm bergwinde waai nie. Geen wortel-vrotbespuitings behoort in hierdie warm maande op vroeë sagte-sitrus kultivars, bv. Satsumas en Clementines gespuit te word nie.

Aalwurmbeheer Reën, asook besproeiingswater, is nodig om die aalwurmdoders effektief deur die grondprofiel te was. Dien aalwurmdoders toe op nat gronde direk na ‘n goeie reënbui. Volg die toediening op met ten minste 35 mm besproeiing.

Wenk vir effektiewe bestuur van wortelgesondheid

Onthou die neem van grond en wortelmonsters as ŉ bestuurshulp-middel, om die aalwurm en Phytophthora-status in die grond en wortels van sitrusboorde te bepaal, moet ten minste elke drie jaar gedoen word. Dit is uiters noodsaaklik om ŉ monster te neem voor-dat ŉ boord vir herplantdoeleindes verwyder word om die aalwurm en Phytophthora status te bepaal vir toekomstige VERVOLG OP BLADSY 76


verwysings. Inligting aangaande die metode van monsterneming kan verkry word van die Diagnostiese Sentrum in Nelspruit. Monsters kan ook na die Diagnostiese Sentrum gestuur word vir ontledings.

FRUIT AND FOLIAR DISEASES P. MOYO AND C. KOTZEGrowers are reminded that mancozeb may not be sprayed later than December on fruit destined for the Canadian market and not later than the end of January for Japan. There are also severe restric-tions for citrus other than soft citrus going to the USA. Mancozeb has a 25 day protection period when applied on its own, but when sprayed in conjunction with a strobilurin spray programme, the first tank mixture application thereafter should be within 21 - 24 days depending on the strobilurin product used. Carbendazim and any other breakdown products of the benzimidazole fungicide group that result in carbendazim residue (Benlate, Spotless, Bavistin,

Bendazid, Knowin) may again be sprayed on fruit intended for the EU and countries that abide by the CODEX MRL system (refer to Recommended Usage restrictions document); it however remains the growers’ responsibility to determine the benzimidazole resistance status of their orchards before applying these products. Copper fungicides or strobilurins in tank mixtures with copper or mancozeb are also options for January. If a spray mixture containing copper will be used, then a copper spray less than 60 days prior to this is not recommended as it will cause stippling. However, it is important to mention that copper is the only residue permit-ted when lemon fruit is processed to produce citrus rind oil while copper and strobilurin sprays are permitted when used for juice processing. Never allow gaps to occur in and during the susceptible period from October to January, especially where contact fungicides are chosen for control. Problem periods are usually over Christmas and New Year. Follow-up treatments are necessary where rainfall occurred within six hours after applications.

Citrus Black Spot is a fungal disease causing black lesions on fruit. Apart from this cosmetic defect, it has no other harmful effects on citrus fruit. However, due to the quaran-tine status of the disease in certain countries, CBS is a very important disease to control on citrus for fresh fruit exports.

Citrus Research International (CRI) conducts research with a wide range of collaborating research organisations. The work reported on here is from the MSc. study of Wouter Schreuder Jnr., whose thesis at Stellenbosch University was titled: Singular and combined effect of postharvest treatments on viability and reproductive abil-ity of Phyllosticta citricarpa infections. The work studied the effect that postharvest packhouse treatments have on citrus black spot.

Why this project?Citrus black spot (CBS) is caused by P. citricarpa and whereas preharvest fungicide treatments can provide high levels of control, EU phytosanitary regulations for the import of citrus fruit require the fruit to be completely CBS-free. Previous research has shown that postharvest treatments and cold conditions can make an important contribution to CBS control. However, postharvest treatment programmes have changed over time, and it was important to re-evaluate the effects of postharvest handling on CBS infections.

How was this project done?Eureka lemons and Valencia oranges were harvested from infected orchards that had not received preharvest CBS sprays. Only fruit that showed no symptoms were harvested and brought back to the lab, because asymptomatic fruit will typically be exported. The fruit were then subjected to the various treatments and associated fungicides that are commonly used in commercial citrus packhouses in South Africa. These treatments were a chlorine wash; a pre-packhouse drench (pyrimethanil, thiabendazole, 2,4-D, and guazatine or propiconazole); a heated fungicide dip (imazalil at 25, 35, 45 and 55°C); and a wax application (thiabendazole, imazalil, and 2,4-D). These treatments were applied individually, as well as in sequential combination as would happen in a citrus packhouse. Additional treatments included dip-treatments in suspensions of propiconazole, a mixture of pyrimethanil and propiconazole, fludioxonil, potassium sorbate, sodium bicarbonate, and Fortisol Ca Plus.

The effects of simulated shipping and cold storage conditions (five weeks at 7°C for lemons and 4°C or -0.5°C for Valencias) were evalu-ated, both on their own and in combination with the packhouse treatments.

After the five week storage period, the fruit were moved into an incubation room (25 – 27°C) with constant light to stimulate lesion

Postharvest treatments aid control ofCitrus Black Spot (CBS)

VERVOLG VAN BLADSY 74


development. Fruit were inspected after one and two weeks, and CBS lesions that developed were counted and recorded. Lesions that developed pycnidia (fruiting bodies that produce reproductive spores) were also recorded. Realtime PCR was used to positively confirm that the lesions were indeed CBS lesions.

What was found:Statistical analysis of the results showed several interesting findings:

• More than 93% of the observed lesions tested positive for genetic material of P. citricarpa (CBS).

• On average, only 10 - 15% of untreated lesions developed fruiting bodies, and this low reproductive capability was in most cases further diminished by the combination of treatments followed by cold stor-age, with < 0.8% of new lesions forming pycnidia in most trials.

• Shipping and storage under cooling (7°C, 4°C and -0.5°C) on their own resulted in low to moderate, but variable levels of control of CBS infections (23 – 69%).

• Individual dip-treatments of additional products led to inconsis-tent levels of control.

• The combination of postharvest treatments demonstrated consistent levels of control: Eureka lemons (average 65%) and Valencia oranges (average 76%).

• Cold storage subsequent to packhouse treatments (as is common shipping procedure) further improved the levels of control to 81% on Eureka lemons and 94% on Valencia oranges.

• Lesions covered in wax did not release spores, indicating that wax creates a physical barrier over the spores.

Conclusion:This study confirmed previous studies (Agostini et al., 2006; Korf et al., 2001; Rappussi et al., 2009, 2011; Seberry et al., 1967; Yan et al., 2016) that CBS lesions on fruit have very low reproductive ability and that high and consistent levels of CBS control can be achieved by standard packhouse treatments and cold storage. These find-ings, considered on their own and especially in combination with the epidemiological requirements for spore release and dispersal from fruit and subsequent infection (i.e. wetness, water dispersal over short distances, and long wetness periods on susceptible host tissue for infection) (Kiely, 1948; McOnie, 1965; Spósito et al., 2008, 2011), support the previous CBS pest risk assessments (South

African CBS PRA, 2000-2009; USDA-APHIS, 2010) that fruit, especially fruit produced and harvested for commercial export, is not a likely pathway for the spread of CBS.

References:Agostini, J., Peres, n., MAckenzie, s., AdAskAveg, J., tiMMer, L., 2006. Effect of fungicides and storage conditions on postharvest development of citrus black spot and survival of Guignardia citricarpa in fruit tissues. Plant Dis. 90, 1419-1424.

kieLy, t.B. 1948. Preliminary studies on Guignardia citricarpa (n. sp.), the asciger-ous stage of Phoma citricarpa McAlp., and its relation to blackspot of citrus. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 73, 249-292.

korf, H.J.g., scHutte, g.c., kotzé, J.M., 2001. Effects of packhouse procedures on the viability of Phyllosticta citricarpa, anamorph of citrus black spot pathogen. Afr. Plant Prot. 7, 103-106.

Mconie, k.c., 1965. Source of infection for black spot of citrus. S. Afr. Citrus J. 378, 5-6, 9.

rAPPussi, M.c.c., PAscHoLAti, s.f., BenAto, e.A., ciA, P., 2009. Chitosan reduces infection by Guignardia citricarpa in postharvest ‘‘Valencia’’ oranges. Brazilian Arch Biol Technol 52:513–521

seBerry, J.A., Leggo, d., kieLy, t.B., 1967. Effect of skin coatings on the development of black spot in stored Valencia Oranges. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. Anim. Husb. 7, 593-600.

soutH AfricAn cBs PrA, 2000-2009. Citrus Black Spot Consolidated Pest Risk Assessment Pertaining to the Export of Fresh Citrus Fruit from the Republic of South Africa to the European Union. http://www.citrusres.com/downloads/market-access.

sPósito, M.B., AMoriM, L., BAssAnezi, r.B., BergAMin, f.A., HAu, B., 2008. Spatial pattern of black spot incidence within citrus trees related to disease severity and pathogen dispersal. Plant Pathol. 57, 103-108.

sPósito, M.B., AMoriM, L., BAssAnezi r. B., yAMAMoto P.t., feLiPPe, M.r., czerMAinski, A.B.c., 2011. Relative importance of inoculum sources of Guignardia citricarpa on the citrus black spot epidemic in Brazil. Crop Prot. 30, 1546-1552.

USDA-APHIS, 2010. Risk assessment of Citrus spp. fruit as a pathway for the introduction of Guignardia citricarpa Kiely, the organism that causes citrus black spot disease. Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Labora-tory, Raleigh, NC, USA.

yAn, J., dewdney, M.M., roBerts, P.d., ritenour, M.A., 2016. The effects of postharvest hot water and fungicide treatments on Guignardia citricarpa growth and the development of citrus black spot symptoms on ‘Valencia’ orange fruit. Hortsci. 51, 1555–1560.

WOUTER SCHREUDERA, WILMA DU PLOOYB, ARNO ERASMUSB, CATHERINE SAVAGEB, ELAINE BASSONB, CHERYL LENNOXA AND PAUL H. FOURIEA,B

aDepartment of Plant Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South AfricabCitrus Research International, P.O. Box 28, Nelspruit 1200, South Africa

Citrus fruit with CBS lesions

CBS lesion with pycnidia.

Read the full published article: Schreuder, W., du Plooy, W., Erasmus, A., Savage, C., Basson, E., Lennox C. and, Fourie, P.H., 2018. Postharvest fungi-cide treatments and cold storage control citrus black spot infections. Crop Protection, 112, 332-342.


ABSTRACTFruit fly scientists across the world meet once every four years to share new developments and research findings on fruit flies. The recent meeting took place from 23 - 27 April 2018. This report provides information on new developments with regard to fruit fly control.

REPORTThe International Symposium on Fruit Flies of Economic Impor-tance (ISFFEI) is a quadrennial event which brings together scien-tists working on fruit fly pests in different parts of the world. The 10th International Fruit Fly Symposium of Economic Importance took place from 23 to 27 April 2018 in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. The scientific programme of the symposium covered various aspects of fruit fly biology, ecology and management. As per the tradition with these international fruit fly symposia, Tapachula was chosen as a venue due to a number of fruit fly research activities and control operations ongoing there. Mexico is the main exporter of mango in the world. About 19 000 tons are exported to the USA annually. The fruit fly control programme in mango orchards

includes releases of sterile Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua (main fruit fly pests on mango) as well as releases of fruit fly parasitoids. A site visit to a mango packing house equipped with hot water treatment facilities for disinfestation of Anastrepha spp was included in the programme of the 10th ISFFEI.

In this report, information on new developments on fruit fly control which was presented at the 10th ISFFEI is provided. A brief on the visit of the mango packing house is also presented.

Key talks on fruit fly controlStochastic model for fruit fly management

Slawomir A. Lux (SAL) from in-silico IPM, Poland, presented the stochastic agent-based model PESTonFARM (Lux 2014). The model uses information on biology and behaviour of the pest and integrates this with climate, landscape, crop phenology and integrated pest management tools. In the presentation by SAL, PESTonFARM was used to estimate survival and establishment of fruit fly incursions in a specified area. The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, was used as a model insect.

REPORTBACK ON A MEETING OF FRUIT FLY SCIENTISTS IN MEXICO IN APRIL 2018

Notes on the 10th International Fruit Fly Symposium

Figure 1. Hot water treatment of mangoes for fruit fly disinfestation in Tapachula, Mexico: (A) Tank for hot water treatment in a mango packing house and (B) Mangoes packed for export to USA after hot water treatment.


Increasingly, models are being used to assist in decision making for management of local fruit fly pest populations and new incursions. There are possible values in using this model in typical fruit production landscapes in South Africa for manage-ment of fruit fly pests and for estimation of survival of invading fruit fly pests.

New control products New attract and kill products presented were the protein-based bait ANAMED (presented by William Urutia, ISCA Technology, USA) and the long lasting lure and kill device (Díaz-Fleischer et al. 2016) that uses the Toricelli barometer principle (presented by D. Perez-Staples, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico). The new lure and kill device can be used with any fruit fly bait mixture. The device was tested with GF-120 and protein hydrolysate and malathion mixture. The bait station effectively killed flies for 35 days. The bait station also remained attractive for 42 days.

Dong H. Cha from USDA-ARS, Hawaii, presented his research findings on the toxicity of the non-nutri-tive and poorly metabolized sugar Erythritol (2M) to fruit flies. The use of Erythritol and sugar in bait spray mixtures for fruit fly control was suggested.

Results on the use of linalool, a component of citrus oil, as an oviposition deterrent for C. capitata was presented by Nikos T. Papadopoulos. A reduction in oviposition by C. capitata was observed in linalool treated fruit.

New control technologyIn Tapachula drones are currently used for releases of sterile insects and fruit fly parasitoids. Specialised methods and equipment (Mubarqui system) have been developed for aerial releases of biological control agents. For releases of sterile flies, 380 000 flies can be loaded at once and released at 30 km/h at altitudes of up to 100 m.

The use of drones for sterile insect releases should be explored in South Africa.

Visit to hot water treatment facilities for fruit fly disinfestationThe Ataulfo variety is the main mango variety produced in Tapachula and is in high demand because of its organoleptic properties and its tolerance to hot water treatment for disinfestation of fruit flies.

Export of Ataulfo mango to USA requires a hot water treatment. For disinfestation of Anastrepha spp. including A. ludens, the target temperature of the water in the tank is 46.1°C. The treatment time depends on fruit size. Treatment time can be up to 110 minutes. Temperatures in the tanks are monitored and have to be provided at the end of the treatment.

I visited a mango packing house which had an inhouse facility for hot water treatment. The facility was certified by USDA. Fruit arriving from the orchard were first sorted into different grades. The fruit were then washed and dipped in a fungicide bath. Export grade fruit were sorted according to weight and packed in baskets. Fruit of a particular weight range were dipped in a selected tank with circulating hot water (Fig. 1A) at 46.1 °C for a specified time. Soon after the hot water treatment, the fruit were lowered in cool water at 20°C before drying and packing (Fig. 1B). The packed fruit were stored in a cool room at 12°C until transportation by road to USA.

ConclusionThe 10th ISFFEI proved to be a good forum to learn about new control tools for fruit flies. I encourage those interested to participate at the next ISFFEI which will take place in Sydney, Australia in 2022 (see https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/naipc/twd/Pages/International-Fruit-Fly-Symposia.aspx).

AcknowledgmentsMy participation at the 10th ISFFEI was funded by Citrus Research International (Pty) Ltd. and Standards Trade Development Facility under the STDF_PPG_567.

Further readingdiAz-fLeiscHer, f., Perez-stAPLes, d., cABrerA-MireLes, H., MontoyA, P. & Liedo, P. 2016. Long-term attraction and toxic effects of tephritid insecticide–bait mixtures by applying Torricelli's barometer principle in a trap-ping device. Pest Management Science 72: 1346-1349.

LUX, S.A. 2014. PESTonFARM – stochas-tic model of on-farm insect behaviour and their response to IPM interventions. Journal of Applied Entomology 138: 458-467.

ARUNA MANRAKHANCitrus Research InternationalPO Box 28, Nelspruit 1200, South Africa

80 TEGNOLOGIE HORTGRO | DES/JAN 2019GEBRUIK PLANTBESKERMINGSPRODUKTE MET VEILIGHEID EN VERANTWOORDELIKE SORG.VOLG AANWYSINGS OP ETIKET TEN ALLE TYE MET TOEDIENING VAN PLANTBESKERMINGSPRODUKTE.

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The installation of shade netting over apple orchards is gaining momentum in South Africa. The high costs can now be offset by the benefits to fruit quality and profitability in many instances. The surge in interest in

this technology is driven by the need to reduce the damage caused by stressful climatic condi-tions that lead to sunburn, wind marks, poor green colour in green and yellow cultivars, and

undesirable pink blush in ‘Granny Smith’. Given the water crisis and efforts to increase water use efficiency in apple production, the potential water savings under netting may provide an additional reason to promote and consider shade netting technologies. This article aims to inform apple growers of a new four year research project which will quantify the water savings under both fixed and draped netting types.

Are water savings in apple orchards under shade netting an additional benefit?New research project launched to quantify apple water use under shade netting compared to the open.

STEPHANIE MIDGLEY1, SEBINASI DZIKITI2, THERESA VOLSCHENK3, ELMI LÖTZE1, MARK GUSH2

1 Department of Horticultural Science, Stellenbosch University2 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Natural Resources and Environment3 Soil and Water Science Programme, ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch

Figure 1. ‘Rosy Glow’ Orchard of the Future at Paardekloof, Witzenberg Valley, under shade netting. The water use of this block and the adjacent block in the open will be quantified and the water use savings calculated.

82 TEGNOLOGIE HORTGRO | DES/JAN 2019

Figure 2. Apple tree instrumented to continuously measure sap flow, from which whole tree water use can be calculated for the growing season.

Why should netting reduce water use in apple orchards?Through reductions in direct solar radiation, air temperature and wind speed, and sometimes increases in air relative humidity, the microclimate under shade netting is milder (Smit, 2007; Mupambi et al., 2018). This can lead to increased stomatal opening and photosyn-thesis, but the lower vapour pressure deficit (VPD) between the leaf and the air usually leads to lower water loss from the leaf. Conse-quently, whole tree and orchard water use is potentially reduced. Although most of the science suggests a high likelihood of water savings under netting, this is by no means a given. In a scenario of very vigorous vegetative growth, or certain changes in atmospheric conditions and soil temperature/moisture, it is possible that much smaller (or no) reductions in tree water use could result.

A comprehensive review of the scientific literature (Midgley et al., 2018) has confirmed that very little field-based research has been conducted globally or in South Africa on changes in tree and orchard water use under netting. Specifically, sap flow measurements have not been reported, and neither have the effects on orchard floor evaporation or cover crop transpiration, which are important components of orchard evapotranspiration, especially in younger orchards. Furthermore, no studies have calculated physical (kg fruit per m3 water used) or economic water use productivity (rand income per m3 water used) of apple production with and without netting. Interviews with local technical experts and advisors in the apple industry confirmed that they have very little science-based informa-tion on which to base decisions and advisory to clients, and possible water-use benefits are not yet included in the sums.

A study which has just been completed (2014 - 2018), jointly funded by the Water Research Commission of South Africa (WRC) and

Hortgro, has determined the water use of high-yielding ‘Cripps Pink’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ orchards in the Koue Bokkeveld (KBV) and the Elgin-Grabouw-Vyeboom-Villiersdorp (EGVV) regions (Dzikiti et al., 2018). In-depth measurements of both components of water use (transpiration and evaporation) and the development of a water use model have paved the way for further studies and application of the model to practical technologies such as netting.

The new research projectand its objectiveThe WRC and Hortgro have again pooled their resources to fund a research project to quantify water use savings under

shade netting. The study will be conducted over four years (2018 - 2022) in the KBV and EGVV regions on both fixed and draped netting systems. The open/fixed netted site will be the ‘Rosy Glow’ Orchard of the Future at Paardekloof (KBV), specifically the section under 20% white netting. This orchard will be studied for the first two seasons of the project. The open/draped netted sites will be selected from suitable full-bearing ‘Golden Delicious’ orchards in both production regions. Each orchard will be studied for one production season, 2019/2020 for KBV and 2020/2021 for EGVV. The project’s overall objective is to compare water use of a high produc-ing open and netted (fixed and draped) full bearing apple orchard under optimal management and unstressed water use conditions, in order to determine water savings per hectare and per ton.

How will this research benefit the apple industry?The deciduous fruit industry will be supplied with information and products which it can use to provide effective guidelines for more efficient management of scarce water resources, in this case specifi-cally by using netting. Growers, technical consultants and netting/irrigation system suppliers and installers will be able to use the information for decision making on the installation of netting, new orchard plantings with or without netting, and irrigation design and scheduling under netting for optimal production and profitability. The information will also enable Hortgro to develop evidence for its Orchard of the Future programme, which aims to increase profit-ability through water-efficient and climate-adapted approaches and technologies for the next generation of orchards. The deciduous


Figure 3. Apple tree row under drape netting in the EGVV region.

Figure 4. The seasonal tree and orchard water use of ‘Rosy Glow’ will be quantified.

fruit industry and its water resource practitioners will also draw on this information when engaging with the Catchment Management Agencies and the Department of Water and Sanitation on efforts made to reduce non-productive water use without placing the future of apple farming at risk. The results will be compiled in a Practical Illustrative Guide on water savings achieved through netting, and growers will also be provided with crop factors suitable for apple orchard irrigation scheduling under netting.

Project team

The study is being conducted by researchers from three institutions:

Prof Stephanie Midgley: Dept Horticultural Science, Stellenbosch University (SU), Project Leader;

Dr Sebinasi Dzikiti: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR);

Dr Theresa Volschenk: Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Infruitec-Nietvoorbij;

Dr Elmi Lötze: Dept Horticultural Science, SU;

Dr Mark Gush: CSIR

One PhD and one MSc in Horticultural Science will become part of the team. The research management team is Dr Gerhard Back-eberg and Dr Sylvester Mpandeli of the WRC and Prof Wiehann Steyn of Hortgro.

ConclusionApple growers who have installed shade netting are encouraged to monitor the water requirements of these orchards and any water savings realised through adjusted needs-based irrigation schedul-ing. The research team would like to ground truth their scientific

findings against such practical evidence. While water savings by themselves likely do not justify decisions to use this technology, they could provide a compelling additional argument for the multiple benefits achievable.

AcknowledgementWe acknowledge funding from the Water Research Commission of South Africa (Project no. WRC K5/2815//4) and Hortgro Pome.

Referencesdzikiti, s., voLscHenk, t., MidgLey, s., gusH, M., tAyLor, n., Lötze, e., zireBwA, s., ntsHidi, z., MoBe, n., scHMeisser, M. And doko, Q., 2018. Quantifying water use and water productiv-ity of high performing apple orchards of different canopy sizes. Project no. WRC K5/2398//4), Final Project Report to the Water Research Commission and Hortgro Science.

MidgLey, s., dzikiti, s., voLscHenk, t., Lötze, e. And gusH, M. 2018 (submitted). Review of the available knowledge on the potential of fixed and draped netting technology for increasing water use productivity and water savings in apple orchards. Deliverable 2 for WRC Project K5/2815//4. Water Research Commission of South Africa and Hortgro Science, June 2018.

Mupambi, G., Anthony, B.M., Layne, D.R., MusAccHi, s., serrA, s., scHMidt, t. And kALcsits, L.A., 2018. The influence of protective netting on tree physiology and fruit quality of apple: A review. Scientia Horticulturae 236: 60–72.

sMit, A., 2007. Apple tree and fruit responses to shade netting. MSc Thesis. University of Stellen-bosch, South Africa.


ONE BASIC START TO WHISKY

AT THEKITCHEN TABLE 43SUMMER

ELMARIE DE BRUYNCell: 082 562 2343

[email protected]

GENERAL The long and almost-wet winter suddenly made way for very hot weather. We are happy, the plants are happy: it is growing season in the Western Cape and we have some water!

This time of the year, our distillery area is a medley of fragrances as the harvesting season starts. One of the new smells is the fermented barley, destined for whisky. Liquid distillation, used for alcoholic beverages is one of our current expansions – new technologies, new creativities and a lot of new possibilities: inspiring!

Barley is synonym with the Overberg area and the area bordering the N2 is beautiful as the fields change from wave-upon-wave of green to golden while the season continues.

I am a relative novice with barley, so I share some very basic facts that I have gathered the past few years. This is from an applied value-adding perspective – the science of barley-production is left for the experts.

HISTORY Hordeum vulgare – Barley is a cereal grain that belongs to the family of grasses. Wild burley originates from western parts of Asia and northern parts of Africa. Cultivated varieties of barley can be found throughout the world today. Cultivation of barley started 8 000 years ago and is actually one of the oldest consumed grains in the world.

Interesting general facts I discovered:

• Roasted barley was used as a coffee substitute during the First and Second World Wars in Italy. This old habit is reviving today since coffee made of barley doesn't contain caffeine, which makes it healthier compared to traditionally used coffees.

• Ancient Egyptians have used barley for the production of bread and beer.

• In Ancient Greece, barley was used as a special food for gladiators.

• English king Edward I of England introduced a new measurement system during his reign at the begin-ning of the 14th century. Three barley corns were equal to the size of one inch, 39 barley corns to the size of one foot and 117 barley corns to the size of one yard. Modern shoe size system originates from that period. Size 13 for example, corresponds to the length of 13 barley corns.

• Greatest producer of barley in the world is Russia. It produces more than 16 metric tons of barley each year.

HOW TO GROWBarley is harvested in the summer in the temperate areas and during the winter in the hot climates. This plant is resistant to drought, it germinates quickly, and it has a short growing season, but it is suscepti-ble to several types of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Hordeum vulgare is an annual tall grass featuring erect stems with few, alternate leaves. Barley comes in two varieties, distinguished by the number of rows of flowers on its flower spike. Six-row barley has its spike notched on opposite sides, with three spike-lets at each notch, each containing a small individual flower, or floret, that develops a kernel. Two-row barley has central florets that produce kernels and lateral florets that are normally sterile. Whereas six-row barley has a higher protein content and is more suited for animal feed, two-row barley has a higher sugar content and is thus more commonly used for malt production.

It grows best in well-drained, fertile loams or light, clay soils in areas having cool, dry, mild winters. It also does well on light, droughty soils and tolerates somewhat alkaline soils.

Barley belongs to the group of self-pollinating plants.

Barley


BENEFITS AND GENERAL USES• Barley is commonly used in breads, soups, stews, and health products, though it is primarily grown as animal fodder and as a source of malt for alcoholic beverages.

• Barley is applied to the skin for treating boils.

• In foods barley is used as a source of vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, and fatty oils. In manufacturing, barley is used as a food grain, natural sweetener, and as an ingredient for brewing beer and making alcoholic beverages.

• Barley contains eight essential amino acids, vitamins of the B- group and minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.

• Barley has a nutlike flavour and is high in carbohydrates, with moderate quantities of protein, calcium and phosphorus with small amounts of the B vitamins.

• With a very high fibre content, vitamins and minerals, anti-oxidants, heart health and diabetes protection are just some of barley's nutritional benefits that make it one of the best whole grain choices.

• Barley also helps improve blood sugar levels and reduces appetite.

Even Barley water has associated health benefits:

• Fibre boost – helps to keep the digestive system healthy.

• Lowers cholesterol.

• Helps balance gut bacteria.

• Lowers blood sugar levels.

• Encourages weight loss.

COMMERCIAL USES The greatest quantity of produced barley (usually more than 50% of globally produced barley) is used as animal food. Due to its high nutritional value, barley is an important part of human diet. It is mostly used as an ingredient of breakfast cereals or in the form of flour. In the food industry, barley is used as a soup thickener. Barley is also used in the manufacture of vinegar.

Barley is used for malt production, which is the main ingredient of beer and whisky. This is our main interest in barley.

Some general information on the process – like with any product, the key is innovation and refinement: the better you do it, the easier it will look.

An alcoholic beverage, such as brandy, rum, arrack, or in this case whisky - is obtained by distillation from fermented fruit or a plant juice, or from a starchy material such as various grains that has first been brewed - in our case barley. The alcoholic content of distilled liquor is higher than that of beer or wine.

The production of distilled spirits is based upon fermentation; the natural process of the decomposition of organic materials containing carbohydrates. It occurs in nature whenever the two necessary ingredients, carbohydrate and yeast, are available. Yeast is a vegetative micro-organism that lives and multiplies in media containing carbohydrates – particularly simple sugars.

Distilled spirits are all alcoholic beverages in which the concentra-tion of ethyl alcohol has been increased above that of the original fermented mixture by a method called distillation.

Because the two ingredients necessary for alcoholic fermentation are widely spread and always appear together, civilizations in almost every part of the world developed some form of alcoholic beverage very early in their history. The Chinese were distilling a beverage from rice beer by 800 BC, and arrack was distilled in the East Indies from sugarcane and rice.

In the fermentation process, simple sugars, including dextrose and maltose, are converted to ethyl alcohol by the action of yeast enzymes. Several intermediate compounds are formed during this complex chemical process before the final ethyl alcohol is obtained. The flavour profile of a pot-still product is more complex than that of a continuous-still product of the same alcohol content.

One method of classifying distilled liquors is as aged or unaged. Vodka, neutral spirits for use in a variety of products, most gins, and some rums and brandies are unaged. Aged products are predomi-nantly whiskys and most rums and brandies.

Blending is another method of obtaining a balanced product with precise flavour characteristics. Blended products are composed of one or more highly flavoured components, a high-proof component with a low congener content, a colour adjustment ingredient and perhaps an additional flavouring material. An example is a blended whisky.

86 PROMOSIE | DES/JAN 2018

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ArcAqua technology is proven to effectively sanitize a wide range of bacteria and fungi more effectively than chemical alternatives. Unlike chemicals that leave a residue and become less effective over time, ArcAqua’s technology provides a constant supply of ozone gas that works repeatedly and consist-ently, without any residue, and requires no management intervention.

Wonderful Citrus gives the thumbs up to South Africa’s breakthrough ozone sanitization technology The Wonderful® Halos® Mandarins packinghouse measures in at 6,000 square meters, the equivalent of 11 football fields.

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PROBLEM: The efficacy of a total loss chlorine sanitiza-tion system is directly related to how well the concentra-tion and pH levels of the chlorine solution are managed. Even the best pack houses in the world struggle with this.

TEST: In June 2017, ArcAqua’s ozone sanitization equipment was installed on each of the brush beds in the seven pre-sort areas of Halos® Mandarins packinghouse. The primary objective was to compare the efficacy of ArcAqua to chemical alternatives. The secondary objective was to determine whether ArcAqua could reduce cross contamination.

EVALUATION: ArcAqua was tested against traditional ozone-rich water solutions, as well as non-ozone chemi-cal treatments. Twelve months of scrutiny later, and the Wonderful Company has placed an order for a further 7 installations, with more to follow in 2019. Their decision has been informed by these findings:

1. ArcAqua results in better sanitization than other ozone or chlorine alternatives2. ArcAqua continually reduces brush bed contamina-tion during a shift3. ArcAqua eliminates management overhead associ-ated with chlorine sanitization4. ArcAqua does not leave a chemical residue after sanitization5. ArcAqua reduces water usage compared to a total loss chlorine approach


MR PITSO SEKHOTO is a prominent commercial livestock, maize and fruit farmer in the Free State. He is also currently both the executive director of the African Farmer's Association of South Africa (AFASA) and the Deputy Chairman of the Agricultural Sector Unity Forum (ASUF). Mr Sekhoto serves on both the Hortgro and the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber (DFDC) Board of Directors and is a non-executive director of Capital Harvest Emerging Farmer Finance (Pty) Ltd. (CHEFF). The South African Fruit Journal caught up with him and asked him the following questions.

LOUISE BRODIE REPORTS

What is your background and what prompted you to become involved in the agricultural sector?

“I grew up in Cornelia in the Free State and although I established my career in the hospitality industry and later also entered the agricultural sector, I am an accountant by profession. I completed my articles with the firm of auditors Van Reenen, Weakley & Davie in Harrismith in the early 1980’s. I was the first black accountant to complete articles in the Free State (in what was the Qwa-Qwa homeland at the time).

“I am the second youngest of 12 children. My father had a vision and that was that none of his children should have to work for others but that they should be enabled to work for themselves. He was a speculator. He did not own land but he had cattle and sheep and he hired land for grazing from commercial farmers. He was clever that way and built up a good business and brought my older brothers into his business. I realised that I would need to choose a different direction as the opportunities with the family business were limited and this was why I chose to study accountancy.

“The period I spent with the auditing firm was the only time in my entire career that I worked for someone. After that I moved to the food and beverage industry and I started restaurants and later also a bottle store in Qwa-Qwa. In 1989 I opened a Kwik Spar franchise and I was also the first black person to open a Spar franchise in the Free State.

“In the 1990’s I moved into the hospitality business and established Sechaba Catering Services. I grew the business for a number of years and in 2000 I sold a 50% share to Royal Food Services, a part of Rabserve Holdings. The new company was called Royal Sechaba, one of the biggest catering companies in South Africa and I was the

chairman of the group. We operated 60% of the Mediclinics as well as many other hospitals across the country. We also catered for the inauguration of presidents Mandela and Mbeki.

“I clearly remember the date 08/08/2008 when I bought my farm and part of my motivation to do this was to fulfil my father’s dream for me to farm. The farm is a 2 200 ha property, situated between Senekal and Steynsrus in the Free State. I left a cosy corporate job in the catering industry to focus on farming and today after 10 years it is one of the most beautiful farms in the Senekal area. I was pleased that my father saw the development on the farm before he passed away in 2012 at the age of 95. The farm has apple and pear orchards as well as cattle and also produces sunflowers and maize. I am a registered Boran cattle breeder and I am crossbreeding Boran with Charolais cattle. I also used to supply Ayrshire milk to Woolworths.

“I am now 61 and when I moved to farming, I thought that going into farming was about slowing down and retiring. However I soon discovered that this was more like jumping from the frying pan into the fire! I realised very quickly that farming is not for sissies. It is a high-risk, capital-intensive sector and you have to be on top of your game at all times. I also rapidly came to appreciate the Afrikaans expression '’n boer maak a plan' (a farmer makes a plan),” says Pitso with a chuckle.

Besides your farming commitments, you have considerable responsibilities within the broader organised agriculture and agricultural development sectors. What motivated you to become this involved in organised agriculture?

“My industry involvement developed over time as I saw the


vacuum of black representation within the formal agricultural sector. Our people are afraid of agriculture. It is not seen as cool or sexy to be involved in agriculture. People see the labour compo-nent and are put off but do not realise that agriculture is the anchor of the South African economy.

“I am the executive director of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA), the organisation which represents black South African farmers, both commercial and emerging farmers. I am also the deputy chairman of the Agri Sector Unity Forum (ASUF), which is an umbrella body representing the interests of a diverse range of agricultural unions and groups. The forum brings them together to discuss and collectively lobby on common interests. When I first started farming I became very involved in organised agriculture. I was a member of Agri SA, the President of AFASA in the Free State. I was also a member of the Free State Dairy Farmers’ Association. I was also on the Absa National Agricultural Advisory Committee so the organised agriculture bug bit me as I realised that we needed to put all our energy behind organised agriculture to make the agricultural sector more effective and successful. All of this involvement is done because I love it and I want to make a difference to our country and the lives of people around me. I am in this because of my passion for agriculture and do not receive payment for serving in these positions.”

Your passion about family involvement and succes-sion planning within the farming sector is commend-able and encouraging. Would you please elaborate on this?

“Securing succession within a farming business is vital for the long-term success within this largely family business based industry. Within our commercial farming sector this is taken very seriously as farming operations are developed and expanded and most often passed on as a legacy to the next generation within a family. This certainly makes sense and we are doing the same within our family.

“My wife is Judge Elizabeth Mamoloko Kubushi in the High Court in Pretoria. We have five children, one son and four daughters and they are all very successful young people in their various fields of business and we are incredibly proud of them. Around seven years ago I persuaded my daughter Nono to join me in the farm-ing business as part of the business’s succession plan. She was an

investment specialist with Investec and initially it took some doing to convince her. She has joined the business and is assisting our business to grow from strength to strength. She has travelled the world with agriculture and become a leader in her field and is the chairperson of the African Farmers' Association of South Africa's (AFASA) youth wing. She is involved in all aspects of our business. We had started farming with rabbits and she is currently expand-ing the rabbit farming operation considerably so this is another venture that we are undertaking.”

Do you have a comment about the current highly charged situation in the South African Agricultural sector regarding the xxpropriation without compen-sation issue?

“On the current big issue of expropriation without compensation surrounding the South African land issue, my comment is that our country is run by a constitution and we need to test and trust the constitution on this issue and let the constitution serve its purpose. The land and its people will be here into the future and people will still be here looking for jobs. This process must be done and we need to deal with this now. We need to share this land amongst ourselves in a way that will make us proud of our legacy.”

What is your outlook on the future prospects of the deciduous fruit sector?

“I am very positive about the future of the deciduous fruit industry. This industry is a growth driver for the country’s future and the exports assist with earning foreign capital for our country. The Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber plans to expand decidu-ous productions by 8 000 hectares in both traditional and non-traditional fruit production regions in South Africa.

“The Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber is making a signifi-cant difference for emerging growers in the industry and we plan to continue with this growth initiative. For the future success of our country, I would say that it is important for commercial farmers within the deciduous fruit sector to share or continue to share the successes of the industry with their workers and emerging farmer neighbours. Keep it up and do this from the heart as together we can succeed.”

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