ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Persimmon production is new to South Africa with about 700 ha planted to the dioecious, parthenocarpic Triumph cultivar since 1998. Little local expertise is available to assist growers in achieving high ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: ‘Triumph’ persimmon production in South Africa is export driven and the profitability of the industry is largely dependent on consumer demand and supermarket shelf space in the European market. In order ...

The production of high quality fruit that meet international standards is of vital importance to the South African fruit industry. Detrimental climatic conditions are forcing producers to examine alternate production ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Plums with good taste, aroma and eating quality lead to repeat purchases and sustained demand. Taste includes non-volatile compounds, e.g. sugars and acids, and has been well researched to meet the consumers’ ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: no abstract available

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mealiness, a soft, dry textural disorder of ‘Forelle’ pear (Pyrus communis L.), is a problem for the South African fruit export industry. Soft, dry textural disorders seem to be related to changes in ...

Chemical thinning of fruit trees has become a central management practice for ensuring high fruit quality at harvest and return bloom the following season. Three trials were conducted in the 2004/5, 2006/7 and 2007/8 ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Quality of certain Leucospermum and Leucadendron cultivars after approximately 21 days shipping has been reported to be substandard due to ‘drying out’ of leaves and, in the case of Leucadendrons, ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The bright colouration of involucral leaves in Leucadendron is unfortunately transient in nature. Undesirable colour changes render this cut flower unmarketable, resulting in a considerable loss of profit. ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The table grape industry is a major contributor to the South African economy, directly through foreign earnings from this predominantly export-based industry, as well as indirectly through the employment ...

Most nectarine orchards in South Africa are currently planted at a distance of 4 x 1.5 m (2 500 trees/ha). These trees are mainly sylleptically trained to a central leader, although many producers also use the proleptic ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In order to develop a novel pink- or red-fleshed apple for the fresh consumer market,the red-fleshed genotype, ‘KAZ 91’ (Malus niedzwetzkyana Dieck.), was crossed with ‘Meran’ (M. domestica Borkh) at the ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Fruit quality is the most important factor that determines prices for the fruit in the international markets. Although different consumers perceive quality differently there are quality variables that ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Creasing, also known as albedo breakdown, is a preharvest disorder that affects the albedo of citrus fruit causing creases on the surface of the fruit. It is a recurrent problem in Navel and Valencia ...

This study was undertaken to quantify some of the effects of daily fertigation on ecophysiological responses in citrus trees (Citrus spp.). Initial research was conducted to optimise and standardise the sampling procedure ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The global movement in agriculture is towards more environmentally friendly, sustainable production practices, since the role of soil microbial functions in ensuring crop production and soil fertility has ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We aimed to determine how canopy microclimate influences fruit quality and consumer preference in apples. Our postulate was that consumer preference would be higher for the taste, but not necessarily ...

Production of quality fruit is the main aim in horticultural crops. Numerous research reports stress the important role of calcium (Ca) in maintaining firmness and preventing the development of physiological disorders ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Climatic differences between production areas or seasons directly affect the rate of fruit maturation and the eating quality following storage and ripening. South African ‘Forelle’ pears are harvested ...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Three field trials were conducted to investigate the effects of mulching on the chemical and biological aspects of the soil as it is reflected by tree performance and fruit quality in ‘Cripps’ Pink’ ...