Citrus
Gamtoos Valley’s Endulini
Introducing netting to shield citrus crops
Results in greater harvests, water savings
T
here is evidence of climate change globally, but it’s also visible locally. For the past four
seasons Endulini Fruit – one of the largest farming groups in the beautiful Gamtoos
Valley - and the wider agricultural sector in South Africa has experienced numerous
weather-related conditions that have negatively affected crops.
During the critical phenological
stage, the fruit set and natural fruit
fall period which typically occurs
from October to December in
South Africa, the Eastern Cape
region is experiencing two or
three heat waves. Heat waves
which can reduce fruit set and
increase fruit fall.
Talking about the recent changes
in the climate, Enduluni Fruit
CEO Pietie Ferreira says, “We
have just come through a three-
year drought with a well-below
average rainfall, the 2016/17
season saw the Eastern Cape
experiencing a heatwave with
temperatures reaching 42°C, high
wind speeds and relative humidity
down to 10%. These conditions
led to a significant fruit drop in the
Sundays River Valley. Something
which was last seen on this scale in
1939 in the East Cape Midlands.
“The following year, 2018/19
we experienced warm moun-
tain winds in combination with
low night temperatures during
June and July that caused fruit
and leaf drop.”
Making the use of nets
In order to shield crops from
climatic stresses, Endulini Fruit is
introducing netting. By the end
of 2019 the citrus producer will
have around 100 hectares of
Washington navel, Cambria navel,
Eureka lemon, Lisbon lemon,
Nova
mandarin,
Nadorcott
mandarin, Tango mandarin and
the newly introduced, Queen
mandarin, under nets following a
successful test period.
Endulini Fruit is initially targeting
high value varieties which need
maximum packouts and seedless-
ness, and selected hectares of
each variety to trial and calcu-
late benefits. “Our strategy is
to close our younger orchards
with nets and increase tonnage
from an early stage, increase our
packouts and neutralise any unfa-
vourable weather conditions as
best as possible.”
Double the tonnage
In the 2017/18 season Endulini
Fruit compared a four-year
orchard of Cambria navel trees
under nets versus those without.
“The test orchards were side-by-
side, had the same soil, same
rootstock, same irrigation and the
same fertilization program. At the
end of the test the trees under nets
delivered double the tonnage of
fruit and were two times the size of
the trees exposed to the elements.
If the nets are up before flowering,
farmers can see a big difference
in harvest within the first season.
“Under nets you decrease wind
speeds by 40%, see water usage
decrease by 20 to 30%, there’s
no severe sunburn and the
micro climate you create is more
favourable for fruit set and can
produce up to five times more
class one fruit.”
North West
Emerging citrus growers enter export market
I
mprovements to irrigation systems, logistics and offices
thanks to loans from the North West Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development of some R800 000
were all part of the boosts and long journey of emerging
citrus farmers Batlhako Temo Services, which have seen the
group recently enter the lucrative export market, with their
products now shipping to the Middle East and Taiwan.
Indeed, Batlhako Temo Services
have successfully entered the
export market, making them the
first black owned citrus orchard in
the North West province to enter
the global market.
38
Having started the project in 2012
on a farm leased from the now
Department of Agriculture, Rural
Development and Land Reform,
enterprise partner Issac Moilwa
says the journey has not been easy.
SABI | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
After the first difficult two years
which saw the passing away of two
members and a loss on production,
the remaining members decided to
introduce citrus. a seasoned farm manager whom
the cooperative commissioned
to create a structure for the
company and take it to interna-
tional platforms.
Had to find packhouse In fact, the group say they were
ready to export in 2018 but
couldn’t find a pack house, so had
to supply locally. They persevered
and found a pack house, and at
the time of writing had delivered
seven containers and were hoping
to deliver more.
The 61,5-hectare farm currently
has 16,000 citrus trees. To date the
company has employed 10 workers
permanent and over 70 seasonal.
The seasonal workers are divided
into the local and export market
workers. Their workforce includes