Butternut yield exceeds expectations

After many years of using heavy chemical programs with red label products, the soil on the farm became almost barren. Unsatisfied with this, as any farmer would be, and to ensure the health of his farmlands, Mr Otto decided to move to a more biologically friendly approach, one that would improve soil health and create a better environment for the growth of crops whilst at the same time establishing a healthy ecosystem in the soil. In 2018 Bushveld Organics began using realIPM products in their fields, at first only on certain blocks, increasing the number of hectares year on year, until this season (2022), where the amount of chemicals used was almost negligible in comparison to biopesticides.

The realIPM strategy implemented on Bushveld Organics, along with cover crops (sorghum – the third cut is mixed into the soil thereby increasing the organic matter in the soil), their own brand of compost as well as their own bacterial-fungi mixture, showed incredible benefits to not only soil health but crop yield too.

Kade Bayes from realIPM recommended that Mr Otto include PopUp and NanoCal to his biological soil programme (which includes Real Trichoderma, SeaBrix, Real Fulvate and Real Humate). In addition, when powdery mildew became a problem, a combination approach was used to effectively deal with the disease which included a reduced quantity of chemicals, combined with Real Trichoderma and Real Bacillus. The overall result was a harvest three times greater than the normal. Kade explains that farming butternut, using chemicals only, whilst battling something like powdery mildew, cause the butternut plant to shut down and eventually die – whereas the approach taken at Bushveld Organics allowed for 16-17 rounds of harvest, and the plants overall life cycle was increased to seven months. The plants stayed healthier for longer and produced for longer. A healthier soil supported a healthier plant – which enabled this blockbuster harvest.