LANDBOU
between R260K and R300K per hectare , you create a microclimate which brings different insects and therefore your spray program needs to be adjusted .
Pests are problematic in the sense that they might differ from year to year . You are prepared to go to war with a specific kind , but another variety shows up .
“ But we are also under pressure from the EU regarding the residue levels on our fruit . Nowadays there are fewer products available to us and what is available is often very expensive . Therefore , we need to consider much more carefully what we spray and when we do so .”
Adrian points to an orchard in which half the trees are way taller than the other half .
“ I planted lucerne where the taller ones are growing now and it regenerated the soil tremendously .”
Perhaps an old geriatric cannot be revitalised into a reborn virgin , but as the adage goes , ‘ many a good tune can be played on an old fiddle .’
Shortly after the picking is done , the flowers which will become the next year ’ s harvest appear .
14 MARKtoe ! Oktober 2023