Almond mineral nutrition

by Antonio Perez Ortiz, Senior Agronomist Agri Technovation, California Considerable research has been conducted on the fundamentals of mineral plant nutrition for almond trees. The objective of this article is to provide a concise overview of the knowledge gained by the industry and to offer insights on what producers need to consider when designing a […]

ITEST™ CARBOHYDRATES analyses for pome fruit

Carbohydrates

ITEST™CARBOHYDRATES analyses for pome fruit by Dr Elmi Lötze, Head of ITEST™CARBOHYDRATES and ITEST™LEAF and Wilmè Brown, Plant Physiologist Biological indicator for management decisions The ITEST™CARBOHYDRATES service is now also available for pears and apples. Although the impact of carbohydrates on pome fruit cultivation has been investigated locally for many years, a commercial service making […]

Soil Health, Microbial Activity and Diversity, and How to Measure It

Soil Health

Soil Health, Microbial Activity and Diversity, and How to Measure It Ruth Anita Vaughan Soil health is defined as the capacity of the soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land use boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality and promote plant and animal […]

Cover up! Or be exposed

Cover crops

Cover up! Or be exposed. by André Strauss, Head of Soil Microbiology, Agri Technovation What is a cover crop? Just as human skin is damaged by the radiation of sun rays, soil is damaged if not covered. One of the best “suntan lotions” for soil is the planting of cover crops. Cover crops refer to […]

Tree crops: Soil variation and its impact on irrigation strategies

Tree Crops

Tree crops: Soil variation and its impact on irrigation strategies     by Gareth Glasspool, Senior Soil Scientist and Marnus Ferreira, Head of Soil Science Most producers over-irrigate As controversial as this may sound, it is true. To avoid this, all factors that impact irrigation must be understood and considered when deciding on an irrigation strategy. The […]

Citrus vs the salt of the earth

LJ Venter & Markus van Renssen (Horticulturists, Agri Technovation) The challenge of salinization Soil salinization presents a serious challenge in areas with a semi-dry climate. Saline soils lead to a variety of complications, especially in citrus, which could have a direct or indirect impact on the producer’s pocket. Where soils are irrigated with high-salinity water (high […]

PICKLOGGER™ is a game changer 

By Albert Bijker and Erald Smith PICKLOGGER™ is a game-changing device that helps farmers and their stakeholders to identify and manage various factors that affect the yields of hand-harvested crops. By recording and logging data points during harvesting, PICKLOGGER™ makes it possible for farmers to produce yield maps, giving them a clear picture of how […]

How your avocado orchard benefits from carbohydrate analyses

By Dr Elmi Lötze (Head of ITEST™CARBOHYDRATES and ITEST™LEAF) and Wilmé Brown (Plant Physiologist), Agri Technovation  Carbohydrates as physiological indicator of plant status The use of carbohydrate analyses to study plant performance is an established practice in the research environment (Wolstenholm, 1987; Whiley et al., 1988; Davie et al., 1995). The selection of tissues/organs most […]

Blue Gold: Let’s start digging

Responsible and efficient irrigation A satellite remote sensing study conducted by the WRC reported that 1 334 562 hectares were actively irrigated in South Africa during 2015. The agricultural industry is under constant pressure to account for the allocation of this water and to ensure that irrigation water is applied in an efficient manner (Jarmain […]

Measure, understand, improve

The combination of PICKLOGGER™ and MYSOIL CLASSIFICATION™ in fruit crops By Marnus Ferreira, Head of Grains, Agri Technovation This article focuses on three actions or concepts as outlined in the title: measure, understand and improve. Together these three actions represent the best current method available for improving yields meaningfully, especially on farms that already perform […]