A plant out of place
Six Urochloa-species are found in South Africa, of which bushveld herringbone grass (Urochloa mosambicensis or bosveldbeesgras) and herringbone grass (U. panicoides or beesgras) are important grass weeds.
Both of these weed species are documented to...
Biological pest control – eco-friendly but lethal
Crop protection is the science and practice of managing pests and diseases. Three key approaches to crop protection include:
pesticide-based approaches such as insecticides and fungicides;
biotechnology-based approaches such as plant breeding and genetic...
Update on wheat rusts in South Africa
Wheat rusts are fungal diseases that primarily infect the leaves and stems of wheat. There are three types of rust diseases (stem rust, leaf rust and stripe rust) which commonly occur on wheat worldwide.
All...
Biosecurity systems under pressure
It is estimated that pests and pathogens destroy between 10% and 40% of food production globally. There are ways to deal with this problem, starting with biosecurity and plant health management systems.
But this is...
TELA to control stem borers in SA
Bt maize is genetically modified to express insecticidal proteins and have been planted in South Africa since 1998. In the 2017/2018 season, 1,62 million hectares of Bt maize were planted locally, which is 71%...
‘n Kykie na insekplae op MIELIESAAILINGE
September 2018
ELRINE STRYDOM, LNR-Graangewasse, Potchefstroom
Gedurende die ontkieming en opkoms van ‘n mielieplantjie is dit belangrik dat ‘n mens bewus sal wees van insekte wat skade daaraan kan aangerig en om pro-aktief op te tree...
Effective weed strategies in sorghum
September 2018
DR MARYKE CRAVEN, MARLENE VAN DER WALT and DR JEANETTA SAAYMAN-DU TOIT, ARC-Grain Crops, Potchefstroom
The slow growth rate of sorghum and the sensitivity of this crop to most herbicides, present the greatest challenges...
Say it before you spray it
There has been several unfortunate incidents in South Africa in the past two years where large colonies of bees were tragically lost due to pesticide use.
In response to these events, various industry experts were...
Aalwurmpeste: “Voorraadopname” en die pad vorentoe
September 2018
PROF DRIEKIE FOURIE, MARETHA PRETORIUS, Eenheid vir Omgewingswetenskappe en Bestuur, Noordwes-Universiteit en DR NANCY NTIDI, LNR-Graangewasse, Potchefstroom
Graangewasproduksie, onder beide konvensionele en bewaringsboerdery, word geknou deur plantparasitiese aalwurms – waaroor vele wetenskaplike en populêre...
A look at integrated pest management
Pest management is only one aspect of overall crop production that needs to be considered by a grower. It cannot be considered on its own – overall management of the crop by the grower...