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Above: An increase in ladybirds at Nederburg reflects the growing biodiversity in the vineyards as healthier soils and balanced water systems attract beneficial insects.
teria-treated water is for the rhizosphere— the layer of soil surrounding the vine roots and where the vines release nutrients for the soil micro-organisms. Enhancing the bio-availability of nutrients is good for vine health and resistance to disease and to climate extremes.”
She adds that supplier-growers to Nederburg are now also adopting this technology, at the same time as a variety of Western Cape municipalities and other farming enterprises are poised to do so.“ Given the mounting spectre of water scarcity in the Western Cape, all of us need to find more water-wise waysof farming.”
BIOCHAR: CAPTURING CARBON AND BOOSTING SOIL LIFE
HEINEKEN’ s agricultural specialist Henk van Graan, an adherent of regenerative farming for close to a decade, believes that more mindful water management is one of the essential steps in building soil life and health and biodiversity, as well as climate resilience.
“ As we begin to appreciate the ecosystems of healthy soils, we are learning in more detail about how their microbial populations provide structural support for all types of plants. They help to fix nitrogen, aerate, moisturise and enrich the soil. Carbon compounds are released by plant roots into the soil to feed billions of organisms and cycle nutri-
DES 2025 | JAN 2026 GROND TOT MOND 63