News + Information

The realIPM team recently met with Oom Fritz Breytenbach on his farm, Middelplaas, to discuss his evolving approach to farming, why he uses realIPM’s products and the impact on quality and yield.

As one of the top five oldest wine farms in the Cape, Vergelegen certainly has heritage and experience in farming vines. This deep understanding of the culture of wine farming, as well as the realization that the usage of potent chemicals is unsustainable, has led the Farm Manager of Vergelegen, Rudolf Kriel to begin the … Read More

By Dr. Gulu Bekker Head Technical | Western Cape As within the rest of the world’s vine growing regions, Planococcus ficus or vine mealybug (hereafter VMB), is a key pest on vines (wine and table grapes) in South Africa. In the Western Cape, VMB was first recorded as a pest in 1930 (Joubert, 1943), and … Read More

by Dr Johan van der Waals | Head Technical, National at realIPM. realIPM has been implementing pace setting integrated pest management (IPM) programs through the combination of various biological products, soil health stimulants and selected chemistry in agriculture. IPM is defined as the understanding of the various life stages of the pest, the nature and … Read More

False Codling Moth: The citrus headache By Dr. Gulu Bekker Head Technical | Western Cape False Codling Moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is native to sub-Saharan Africa, and was first described from samples collected in the Pretoria area. It is considered a major pest in the citrus industry. False codling moth (FCM) is recognised … Read More

Fertiliser prices have increased drastically and farmers are looking for ways to decrease fertiliser usage and/or optimise their efficiency. As part of our effective integrated pest management programs realIPM supply specific nutritional products, alongside dedicated advice pertaining to nutrient optimisation, as imbalanced or inadequate nutrient conditions drive pest problems in crops. A core component of … Read More

Eriosoma lanigerum (Hemiptera: Aphididae), better known in the South Africa apple industry as Woolly Apple Aphid (WAA), is a highly problematic apple pest. It is also commonly known as apple root aphid or “appelbloedluis”. In South Africa, WAA is rarely found on other host plants, but it has been recorded in peaches and pears. A … Read More

It’s harvesting season for a South African staple: butternut.  Farmers all over the country are harvesting their crops, getting them into the stores and if they’re lucky, they’ll be as healthy and plentiful as Stefanus Otto’s butternuts from his farm, Bushveld Organics, in Waterpoort. The average yield for a butternut squash harvest in South Africa … Read More