Know your soil – Part 2

Apart from reducing cyst eelworm, planting trap crops has other advantages.

An integrated approach to controlling cyst eelworm usually produces the best results, but using a trap crop is perhaps the single most important method.

In the previous issue, we discussed the fact that beet cyst eelworm is impossible to eradicate once it is established on a land.

Plant pathogens, or disease-causing viruses, bacteria and fungi could lead to significant losses in agricultural yields, and threaten food security

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and... groundcherries? A little-known fruit about the size of a marble could become agriculture's next big

Farmers could soon be growing tomatoes bunched like grapes in a storage unit, on the roof of a skyscraper, or even in space. That's if a clutch of new gene-edit

What if we could grow plants that are larger and also have higher nutritional content?

As OsACBP2 contributes to boosting oil content as well as size and weight in transgenic rice grains, an application of this technology in rice

In my experience, the most successful farmers are those who regularly conduct trials in an effort to lower costs and raise production.

Where many farmers fall short is knowing how deep the water has penetrated after irrigation or rain.

Farmers often ask me how frequently and how much they should irrigate. There is no simple answer, as many aspects must first be considered.

We recently discussed how to identify mineral deficiencies and eelworm infestation. Many other problems can occur, of course.

There are a number of species to contend with; the common root knot genera (Melodogyne spp.) are easy to identify as the nematode enters the root and causes

Chard (Beta vulgaris) is also known as ‘Swiss chard’, ‘silver beet’, ‘mangold’ and other names. In South Africa it is usually referred to simply as ‘spinach’.

If it were not for the natural enemies of this pest, whiteflies would probably be our main vegetable pest. An outbreak of whitefly is usually the result

When spraying different pests at the same time, many farmers try to kill two birds with one stone by making elaborate mixtures.

Vegetable expert Bill Kerr discusses how to get the best out of sandy soil, regardless of what crop you’re growing.

Many farmers think that using a knapsack sprayer is taking a step backwards as large spray rigs are fast and effective. However, knapsack sprayers still have

As pointed out previously, the key to successful pest and disease control is optimal penetration of the spray mixture.