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23 Mar 2018
Farming Technology
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Technology: The Future of Agriculture

Anthony King
www.nature.com

A technological revolution in farming led by advances in robotics and sensing technologies looks set to disrupt modern practice.

Over the centuries, as farmers have adopted more technology in their pursuit of greater yields, the belief that ‘bigger is better’ has come to dominate farming, rendering small-scale operations impractical. But advances in robotics and sensing technologies are threatening to disrupt today’s agribusiness model.

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27 Feb 2018
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Citrus orchard sanitation with emphasis on false codling moth control

Sean Moore & Wayne Kirkman
Citrus Research International
E-mail: seanmoore@cri.co.za

Orchard sanitation is the regular removal and destruction of all fallen fruit and all hanging fruit, which is infested, damaged or decaying. Regular orchard sanitation has three major benefits, in assisting to control false codling moth (FCM), fruit flies and fungal pathogens. Orchard sanitation should be initiated early in November and continued until harvest. Thereafter, all out-of-season fruit should also be removed from the orchard.

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27 Feb 2018
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Okuleerhout aanvraag en aanbod: Tekort aan sekere kultivars.

Paul Fourie
Citrus Research International, Sitrusverbeteringskema, Uitenhage
Jacolene Meyer
Citrus Research International, Sitrusverbeteringskema, Uitenhage
Michelle le Roux
Citrus Research International, Sitrusverbeteringskema, Uitenhage
Thys du Toit
Citrus Research International, Sitrusverbeteringskema, Uitenhage
Scott McKenzie
Suid-Afrikaanse Sitrus Kwekersvereniging

Die suidelike Afrika sitrus-industrie het in onlangse jare ongekende groei ondervind. Dit is duidelik uit die groei in kwekery kapasiteit en aantal bome wat jaarliks gemaak word. Vier jaar gelede is 3.2 miljoen bome in 25 kwekerye gemaak.

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27 Feb 2018
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Increasing Citrus Fruit Size with Synthetic Auxins

Jose L. Guardiola
Departamentod e Biologia Vegetal
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia. Valencia. Spain

The price of fruit is largely determined by quality factors whose appreciation is at the mercy of Customer’s whims. For the fresh fruit market flavor and appearance are still basic determinants for the acceptance of the fruit and the popularity of the cultivars. In addition, the importance of fruit size as a parameter of quality has increased markedly in recent times. This is reflected in the changes in the legal regulations which have risen recently in minimum diameter to accept a fruit as marketable in the European markets.

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26 Feb 2018
Lemons
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From fruit hawker to successful lemon exporter

Jeandré du Preez
Farmers Weekly

Although Wayne Mansfield made useful connections in the fruit industry as a hawker, he knew little about farming. However, with the help of a grant and mentorship, he established a lemon farm near Paarl in 2013, and last year boosted his exports by 400%.

Before starting his lemon farming operation, Fruit Field Farming, just outside Paarl, Wayne Mansfield was a fruit hawker. “I grew up in Pniel and got involved in the fruit business by helping my uncle after school and over the weekends for pocket money. He’d buy the fruit from local farmers and I’d help pack the fruit to be sold at the Epping market,” he recalls. READ MORE

25 Jan 2018
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Effect of Foliar Application of Micronutrients on the Yield and Quality of Sweet Orange

M. Tariq, M. Sharif, Z. Shah and R. Khan
Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan
Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences

An experiment was designed to study the effect of foliar application of micronutrients on the yield, quality and leaf composition of Sweet Orange, Blood Red variety at Shabazgari, Mardan.

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12 Dec 2017
Citrus Scarring
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Photographic Guide to Citrus Fruit Scarring

Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell
UC Cooperative Extension IPM Specialist and Research Entomologist| UC Riverside;
Neil N. O’Connell
UCCE Farm Advisor | Tulare County;
Craig E. Kallsen
UCCE Farm Advisor | Kern County; and
Joseph G. Morse
Professor of Entomology and Entomologist| UC Riverside.
Photography by Jack Kelly Clark, Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell,Craig E. Kallsen, and Alan A. Urena.

Scarring of the rind of citrus fruit can prompt packinghouse operators to downgrade the fruit from fancy to choice or even juice.  If you as the grower can recognize the different types of scars you can differentiate between symptoms that indicate biological (e.g., insect, mite, disease, or snail), mechanical (e.g., equipment, hail, or wind rubbing), or chemical e.g., phytotoxic burn) damage. Once you know the causal agent you can take steps to reduce injury to future crops.

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11 Dec 2017
Fruit drop in ‘Midknight’ Valencia
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An investigation of excessive fruit drop in the Eastern and Western Cape during the 2016/17 season

Jakkie (OPJ) Stander
Citrus Research International | Department of Horticultural Science, University of Stellenbosch
E-mail: jakkie@sun.ac.za

In 2017 citrus producers in the Eastern and Western Cape reported abnormal levels of premature fruit drop in a range of different citrus cultivars. In some orchards fruit drop levels of up to 80% of the total yield were recorded. This report is based on an investigation conducted in May 2017 which considered as many potential contributing factors as possible. It aimed to describe the nature of the fruit drop problem and provide future recommendations.

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