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KHUVUKA

CRACKS NEW

TECHNOLOGY

WHAT’S

THE BUZZ

ON BEES

Autumn 2018

WIND-BLOWN

MACS FIND

SHELTER

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From the EditorGareth Wright

Fodder Grass Provides Perfect ShelterFor Wind-Blown Macs

Strict Business PrinciplesTurn a Dream into Reality

Coastal Factory UpgradesTo Meet Processing Demand

What’s The Buzz?Macadamia Growers & BeeFarmers Must Keep Talking

Pioneering Cracking TechnologyGives Khuvuka Max the Edge

Expert Advice From Mayo MacsFor Sustainable Harvesting

Establishing An OrchardYou Only Get One Chance

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EditorGareth Wright072 223 [email protected]

AdvertisingLaura Myers083 271 [email protected]

Design & LayoutElizabeth-Ann [email protected]

www.macadamiasa.co.za

Cover ImageMaggy Mtawane pours thesorted macadamia kernels into a skip at the Green Farms Nut Company Coastal Factory onthe KwaZulu-Natal south coast.The kernels are sorted at least once more before beingpackaged for export.Image Colleen Dardagan

Right ImageTanya Jacobs Photographywww.tanyajacobs.co.za

This publication isprotected by copyright law.No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the permission and acknowledgement of Macadamia South Africa. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of Macadamia South Africa or the publishers.

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Contents

MACADAMIA SOUTH AFRICA2

Colleen DardaganContributing Author

Lindi BothaContributing Author

Laura MyersAdvertising

From the

EditorGareth Wright

As the drought intensifies its grip in the Western Cape, and in particular in the city of Cape Town, the issue of optimum water use, particularly in organised agriculture has become a top priority across the country. In Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal where farmers are ploughing out tobacco, banana, litchi, mango, timber and sugar cane fields and replacing them with macadamia nut orchards, high input costs and the impact of climate change on weather patterns has resulted in the installation of state-of-the-art irrigation systems and the age-old use of mulch to keep soil moisture content at optimum levels. In the Umhlatuze Valley outside Richards Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal, growers are using innovation to not only protect their young trees from the north-westerly wind, but to keep the shallow feeder roots moist even in the driest conditions.

In this, the second edition of the Macadamia SA magazine, we delve into these strategies and highlight some of the attitudes growers have towards the adoption of best practice soil management in their orchards. As the harvesting season is now in full swing, a visit to the Green Farms Nut Company Coastal Factory near Ramsgate on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast has further highlighted the industry’s exponential growth. During the off season a multi-million rand upgrade has meant the plant has doubled its capacity for processing high quality kernels which are then exported all over the world. And perhaps, more importantly, the factory offers opportunities for work in a rural area where jobs are generally hard to come by.

In Mpumalanga, a new factory has opened its doors using innovative nut cracking technology which the growers, who own the facility, say will improve profits. With an innate passion for farming and a degree in agriculture, Hazyview grower, Elias Pangane, saw the gap offered by this burgeoning industry and swopped his cattle for macadamia nut trees, and according to him, the success of his operation is linked directly to his pest management strategy and being on top of the feeding programme for his trees. Previously a vegetable farmer, Pangane now plants his vegetables between the trees. Andrew Sheard from Mayo Macs again offers expert advice on what growers should be thinking about in their orchards particularly in relation to the harvesting process and maintenance to ensure a quick recovery for the trees resulting in a big crop again next year.

In its bid to optimise the use of water for irrigation in the growing number of macadamia nut orchards in the country, growers have adopted strategies that have exponentially improved the health of their soils.

AUTUMN 2018 5MACADAMIA SOUTH AFRICA4

Planting Napier Fodder (Pennisetum purpureum) as a protection against persistent gales in Zululand is proving hugely effective for the improved protection of macadamia nut saplings in newly developed orchards. Technical Manager at UVS, Sarah-Jane Stewart said one of the biggest challenges in the 470ha macadamia operation was finding a way to protect young trees from the elements. “Wind is one of our biggest limiting factors. We definitely don’t get the growth that farmers in Mpumalanga achieve, for example. Our trees don’t grow as vigorously, but we have now come up with a way to protect our trees and its working really well,” Stewart said.

With a target of another 120has planted to macadamia trees by this time next year, land preparation for the additional orchards - previously used for sugarcane production - is already well underway. “We start our land preparation a year in advance. Once the sites for the new orchards are mapped using drones and satellite technology, we then prepare the ridges. We turn the soils at depth before planting the rows of Napier Fodder - or Elephant Grass - together with a mix of natural grasses, to hold the topsoil. Once the Napier Fodder has grown to an acceptable height we plant the new trees,” Stewart said.

Through trial and error, the ideal growing conditions using the fodder as protection from the wind are starting to emerge.

Fodder Grass Provides Perfect

ShelterFor Wind-Blown Macs

Tough weather conditions on KwaZulu-Natal’s northern coastline are proving the perfect classroom for best water and land management development in the region’s fledgling industry.

Article & ImagesColleen Dardagan

“We have tried planting the trees between the rows of Napier Fodder and then cutting it down by hand to use as mulch once the trees are established. We have also tried growing the trees close to the rows of fodder. At this stage the latter seems to be the more successful. And rather than cut the fodder by hand we want to use a mechanical chipping machine to break down the stalks faster. The cut fodder also provides an effective mat that smothers weed growth,” she said.

Macadamia varieties planted on the farm include 814s (the best performers during the recent drought), 816s, 842s, 846s and 849s. Further, due to the limited differential between day and night temperatures in the sub-tropical region, the orchards produce nuts with thin shells and good kernel recovery. More recent plantings have included the drought resistant Beaumont variety. The oldest trees on the farm are 12 years old. About 110ha are producing nuts while the rest of the area is planted to young and developing trees. Water for irrigation is drawn from the nearby Umhlatuze River which also supplies water to the nearby industrial city of Richards Bay.

As most of the producing trees on the farm are still recovering from the crippling drought, currently harvest tonnages are pegged at about 3.5 tons a hectare. “Our short-term aim is to get to 4.5 tons and then ultimately 6 tons a hectare,” Stewart said.


Above Napier Fodder is planted in the newly

prepared orchards to protect the macadamia

nut saplings from the north westerly winds.

Right Technical Manager at the

Umhlatuzi Valley Sugar Company, Sarah-Jane

Stewart assists with the sorting of the macadamia

nuts in the company’s de-husking and drying

facility on the farm.


Above Technical Manager at The Umhlatuzi Valley Sugar Company, Sarah-Jane Stewart explains how

the weather stations and moisture probes in the orchards are operated using solar energy.

A horticulturalist by profession who farmed macadamias in Mpumalanga for 11 years before returning to KwaZulu-Natal, Stewart said the recent drought in the region had “substantially” informed improved irrigation practices. “We are on a big drive to use mulch. Mulch reduces the water needs of the trees and also reduces the need for herbicides. We are trying to move away from using too many herbicides to improve soil sustainability.”

At the end of each harvesting season the macadamia nut husks - removed during processing - are mixed with kraal manure and mechanically applied under the trees. This mix is used in addition to old prunings and the decomposing fodder stalks,” she said.

Above Assistant technical manager, Sihle Khoza assists with pruning some of the younger trees at the Umhlatuzi Valley Sugar Company.

Left Mainly women are employed by the Umhlatuzi Valley Sugar Company and in particular during the harvesting season.

Far LeftMacadamia husks fresh from the factory are applied below the trees. Once harvesting is completed the macadamia husks are mixed with kraal manure before being applied to selected orchards.

LeftOnce the nuts are dried and bagged, they are weighed before being stored in a room kept at a constant 20°C to prevent mould growth.


Over 70% of the orchards are under drip irrigation with the older blocks still under a micro-jet system. “The drip irrigation is fantastically effective. For example, yesterday we had 80mm of rain, but we are still able to put fertigation down under the trees. We just decrease the amount of water and increase the amount of fertiliser, whereas with the micro-jets you still have to put down quite a lot of water before the right amount of fertiliser can be absorbed. Using drip irrigation really saves a lot of water,” she said.

And now that the harvesting season is well underway, Stewart said staff were working two shifts to gather in the nuts. “We employ about 60 full time employees and 80 people, mainly women, on contract during the harvesting season,” she said. Once the nuts are harvested, two teams specialising in the pruning of the trees, move in to the orchards. “Because we have a very hot and dry September - we have recorded some of our hottest temperatures at this time - through a little manipulation we try to bring our trees into flowering as early as July. That is why we prune the trees as quickly as possible after flowering, so they can rest and recover.”

Because the development of the macadamia industry in northern KwaZulu-Natal is relatively new compared with the more established industries in Mpumalanga, southern KZN and the Limpopo Province, Stewart said farmers were learning together. “We have three other macadamia nut producers in our area. We share information on the spraying of pests such as stink bugs and nut borer, we have regular study group meetings. Farming has really become so much more scientific and that is why I love this particular industry as there is still so much to learn,” Stewart said.

Top Refurbished vegetable tunnels

house about 50 000 saplings which will be planted in the over 100ha’

of newly developed orchards.

Middle Napier Fodder is planted in the

newly prepared orchards to protect the macadamia nut saplings from

the north westerly winds.

Right Women are seen moving from

one orchard to another. In peak harvesting season teams working

two shifts a day are able to deliver 21 tons to the on-farm de-husking

and drying facility.

AUTUMN 2018 1110 MACADAMIA SOUTH AFRICA

Above Elias Pangane has fulfilled his dream of farming part-time, thanks to the robust macadamia industry.

“Today I am farming full-time and I’m making room for my sons to join me. My eldest two, Kenwell (28) and Muzi (26) both became civil engineers since I was already in the construction business, but Dumisane (20) is currently studying for a BA in agriculture at the University of the Free State. He has a real love for the land and is excited to join me,” says Pangane.

PART-TIME TO FULL-TIME

In 1999 Pangane decided to de-bush the land and farm vegetables like beans, tomatoes and chillies, as he felt this would be a better economic utilisation of the land. While the vegetables were doing well, a turning point came in 2007 when Pangane was given 200 Nelmac macadamia trees as part of a government initiative to expand the macadamia industry. After seeing that the trees did well Pangane bought more trees and started expanding this component of the farm.

Today he has 30ha of macadamias in total, with more trees being added every year. He follows a system where he leaves enough space between rows of vegetables to plant a row of macadamia trees. This way he has a cash crop that brings in a good income during the first five years, before the trees start producing nuts. Once the trees are too big to plant vegetables around them, he moves onto another field, planting vegetables and macadamias in between, at a spacing of eight meters by four metres. Pangane plants pine trees around every block as wind breakers.

The business, Pangane & Sons is spread over two farms; 28 hectares on Lost and Found and 11 hectares on Mashoshowane, which is three kilometres further down the road. Pangane plants Beaumonts as the yields are good and the A4 variety because of the higher than average crackouts. The Nelmacs are harvested in March, and Beaumont and A4 in April or May depending on maturity. Overall he achieves a crackout of 34% sound kernel recovery.

Strict Business

PrinciplesTurn A Dream Into Reality

Elias Pangane’s passion for farming was ignited at a young age. Growing up on a cattle farm just outside of Hazyview in Mpumalanga, his family grew their own vegetables and that gave him his taste for farming. But it was never seen as a viable career option and so Pangane pursued a profession in the construction business. When his father left the farm in 1996 to live closer to town, Pangane managed the family’ cattle herd, but soon realised the farm had more potential. Over the next few years, he took the land from a subsistence farm to a flourishing business.

Article & ImagesLindi Botha

Above Left Vegetables are planted between the rows of young macadamia

trees to provide a monthly income before the trees are in production.

AUTUMN 2018


When asked about the challenges of farming macadamias, Pangane smiles and says, “There aren’t any! If you do regular scouting, follow your fertiliser and crop protection programme there are few problems. When I started farming vegetables my biggest challenge was finding a market, but with macadamias the market finds you because they are that much in demand.”

Pangane uses trusted consultants from reputable companies to work out a crop protection and fertiliser programme and has his spraying machines regularly calibrated. “This is very important because if your equipment is not calibrated you spend all the money on chemicals, but don’t get the full advantage.”

He believes the secret to a good crop is following the spraying programme and doing adequate scouting. “The programme is a good guideline, but you need to know what is happening in the orchards as well. Every month before we spray we scout to see what is really happening. Otherwise you just spray and it is not necessarily what is needed.”

Both Lost and Found and Mashoshowane are the only farms in the area growing macadamias. Because there are no neighbouring orchards, Pangane says that the pest load on his trees is lighter. “I don’t have to worry if my neighbour is spraying or not and if stinkbugs that breed on his farm, come over to mine. The downside however

is that I am the only one burning fire breaks, which makes it all the more important for me to do it right. It’s a huge investment in your orchards to lose if fires started spreading.”

Pangane & Sons employs six permanent workers for the macadamias and an additional 20 workers around harvest time. He is passionate about empowering women and focusses on placing females in leadership roles. Busi Thabete and Nyengeterai Kahle started out as general labourers and today are farm managers. They manage the workforce, production and Global GAP certification of the farms. “Women are reliable,” says Pangane. “They follow instructions and are consistent. Across my two farms only a third of the employees are male. This created problems initially as many men did not want to take instruction from a woman. But I told them that if they don’t listen to the women it is as good as not listening to me.”

FULFILLING A DREAM

Pangane says he has three principles that guide him in his endeavours: capital, knowledge and market. “These are three things you need to be a successful businessman and farmer. You have to have all three, not one or the other. If you don’t have capital you will take short cuts, if you don’t have the knowledge you will do things wrong. And of course without a market you don’t have an income. If one of the three is missing then forget it; you will lose your money and waste your time.”

He attributes his success to the passion he has for farming. “If you love something you seek knowledge about it. You won’t waste your time learning about something that does not interest you. I speak to everyone I can to get as much information as possible. I phone the other farmers in the area if I have a problem and read up on whatever I can to improve. Lastly, practice makes perfect. The more involved you are on the farm the better. I must teach my staff and show them the way, so I need to make sure I am as informed as I possibly can be.”

Pangane has confidence in the future of the macadamia industry and says he will continue to expand as much as he can. “When I started farming I never thought I would get to where I am today because I didn’t think I could make money out of it. I just thought I had to farm part time as a hobby and make a living from construction. I think if young people realised they can make as much money from farming as any other career we would find more people in agriculture.”

But, he says, the secret is to farm properly. “Otherwise you will always struggle and everyone that sees you will be put off by farming. If farming is in your heart you will make it. Initially it is a struggle. Nothing is easy when you start, but you must persevere.”

Above Pangane plants Nelmacs, Beaumonts and A4’s on his farms. The first trees were planted in 2007.

Right The average crackout across the varieties is 34% sound kernel recovery.

A 3-part series on the history of Beaumont in South Africa.

1Part

There is a reason why Beaumont (HAES 695) has

become the clear leader in cultivar choice in South Africa. A deeper look into the history of the cultivar explains why this is so, and why Amorentia Macadamia Nursery chooses to produce hundreds of thousands of

Beaumont trees each year.

During the 1930s, thousands of Macadamia cultivars were trialled in Hawaii in search of the highest

quality nuts for a commercial industry. The trials were

headed by Prof. Bill Storey and followed by Prof. Dick

Hamilton. A new Australian selection, NSW44, which was numbered 695 in the HAES gene bank, (later to

be given the name Beaumont) was rejected for its inability to naturally drop its own crop. It had passed

all other quality tests conducted by the University

of Hawaii.

Len Hobson, a well-loved horticulturist in South Africa is known for having pioneered the Macadamia Industry here and for having developed the Papino® too. During a visit to California for a citrus symposium

in 1968, Len visited an important Macadamia trial-planting. Among the trees planted there was the HAES 695 selection. Len also visited the first commercial planting of 695 belonging to the chairman of the Californian Macadamia Society (Col. Wells Miller). Len recalls that the young trees were laden with nuts.

After visiting both sites, Len fell in love with Beaumont and he began the preparation to import some material to South Africa. This story is extremely entertaining

and can be read on the Amorentia website: www.amorentia.co.za. Interestingly, Len is the maternal Grandfather to Amorentia’s Macadamia Nursery manager, Lauren Strever.

Once Len had established the 695 mother material in

his nursery, he immediately experimented with clonal

propagation and realised the importance to pursue the cultivar for commercial use. In his record keeping, he noted that a high quality rootstock coupled with

an above-average kernel (and an exceptionally precocious nature) must be a winner if vegetatively propagated properly.

Above:

Len Hobson’s slide

photograph of the John

H Beaumont Agricultural

research centre in Hawaii.

Look out for Part 2 in the next edition of the Macadamia SA Magazine!www.amorentia.co.za

Left:Len Hobson in his

Nursery prior to his

discovery of Beaumont.

ADVERTORIAL


Above Ntomb'futhi Shusha and Sonto Ngcobo sort the macadamia nuts after they are mechanically removed from their shells.

Coastal Factory Upgrades

To Meet Processing Demand

A multi-million upgrade to the Green Farms Nut Company Coastal Factory on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast has enabled the facility to double its capacity to meet demand.

And expectations are that as sugarcane growers continue to diversify their operations at least 1 000ha of additional macadamia nut orchards could come under development in KwaZulu-Natal by 2020.

Article Colleen DardaganImages Colleen & Greg Dardagan

Above Nuts supplied from as far afield as Zululand and George in the Western Cape are processed at the factory.


Ann Baker, General Manager at the plant on the outskirts of Ramsgate, says a major refurbishment and upgrade during the 2017/18 off-season means the factory now has the capacity to process up to 4 500 tons of macadamia nuts a year - more than double the 2 000 tons previously. “When I was first appointed to the position of General Manager in 2007 we were processing less than 1 000 tons a year at times - now we are processing almost 3 000 tons! The growth in the industry is exponential and we are now ready for it.” With the 2018 harvesting season well underway, Baker said the factory was trucking out the processed kernels at a rate of about 25 tons a week with the almost 170 seasonal staff working double shifts to cope with harvested nuts arriving from as far away as northern Zululand and George in the Western Cape.

Kernels from the factory are shipped to the United States, Europe, Japan, the United Kingdom and the Far East which underlines the company’s philosophy to sell into all the macadamia markets rather than focusing on a particular region. As a result, the risk for both the Green Farms Nut Company and the grower is spread, which is fundamental to building a global market for the domestic product.

“We believe this is what differentiates us. At least 95% of our product is exported as kernel, rather than nut-in-shell, which is in huge demand in China. The problem though is the Chinese then process the nuts and export them to countries where we already have customers. They are creating competition for us using our own products. But by supporting all markets we are introducing our macadamias to new customers and not simply focusing on what could be an easy option,” she said.

The Coastal Factory was first built ten years ago by local farmers. “Back then most farmers would send their crop all the way to Mpumalanga,” she said.

Nico Neethling, who is the Technical and Horticultural Advisor for the Green Farms Nut Company - the family group bought the factory in 2006 - said his understanding was that at least 1 500ha to 2 500ha of macadamia orchards were being planted on average across the country each year and at least half of that was in Mpumalanga.

“We anticipate the rate of orchard growth to remain at similar levels so that means an increase of about 3 000ha to 5 000ha under nuts by 2020,” Neethling said.

Right The Green Farms Nut Company logo proudly displayed

outside the newly built factory on the outskirts of the KwaZulu-Natal

south coast town of Ramsgate.

Far Right Staff inside the recently upgraded factory give the processed

nuts a final check beforethey are packaged.

Right Newly-appointed Production Manager at the factory, Brian Cele.

Below Left General Manager at the Coastal

Macadamia factory Ann Baker explains how state-of-the art

machinery in the facility cracks the nuts.

Below Right Macadamia Nuts

ready for packaging.

Baker said the increase in capacity at the factory had resulted in more work opportunities for local people in an area where jobs were hard to come by. “I have seven permanent staff and the rest are seasonal contract workers. When we start up at the beginning of each harvesting season we give priority to those who have worked here before. Then, if there are any vacancies, we fill up with new people, but all from the local area. All the staff are then trained, those who have worked with us before have a refresher course,” Baker said.

But it is the FSSC 22000 or Food Safety System Certification that Baker is particularly proud of. “I believe this was the first macadamia nut factory in the world to achieve that accreditation. We are very strict on quality control; checks and balances are in place right the way along the processing line. All our product is fully traceable. Each farmer’s crop is processed separately. And we reward those farmers who deliver high quality nuts with discount prices and we penalise those who send in a crop that does not meet the standard criteria.”

Baker said while farmers were advised ahead of the season of the prices they could expect for their harvest, at the close of the season if further profits were made on the back of favourable exchange rates and better sale contracts, these were divided up. “This is a strong point of ours, we pay the farmers on the actual nuts they deliver and then if there are extra profits at the end of the season they benefit from that as well. Our record keeping on each farmer is comprehensive and accurate. In fact, if one of our customers has an issue with the product delivered to them we can trace those back to each batch delivered,” she said.

Farmers who delivered their crop to the Coastal Macadamia Factory were also kept abreast of best harvesting and growing practices. “Our Extension Assistant, Butch Aylward, visits our farmers regularly to assist them with technical advice. This is so important to us for maintaining the quality of our product, as well as ensuring the nuts come into the factory according to a well organised delivery schedule,” she said.

MACADAMIA SOUTH AFRICA20 21AUTUMN 2018

Craig Campbell, who is the Chairman of the KZN Bee Farmers’ Association, a member of the South African Bee Industry Organisation and the Managing Director at the noted Peels Honey outside Hilton, says improved communication between farmers and apiculturists is now critical, particularly in the country’s growing macadamia nut industry where demand for bee swarms is outstripping supply.

“At the moment the macadamia nut industry takes up about 40% of our more than 8 000 hives, and already we have seen an increase in demand between last year and this year. The growth is exponential,” Campbell said.

Peels Honey uses its bees to pollinate crops such as sunflowers as far away as Kimberley in the northern Cape, to,

apples and cherries in the Free State and macadamia nut trees, litchis, citrus and avocado trees in KwaZulu-Natal.

Over the period of a year the bee farmer harvests about 40kg of honey from each hive depending on the crop and the season. During the recent drought in the country, for example, Campbell said many of the swarms produced little or no honey due to the lack of rain. During the 2017 season Campbell said they harvested just 200kgs of honey from the macadamia nut orchards in KwaZulu-Natal. Because of the range of varieties planted in the county’s orchards, bee hives are placed into the macadamia orchards between July and October compared with apples and cherries for example, where hives are required in the orchards for just two weeks.

What’s The Buzz?Macadamia Growers & Bee Farmers Must Keep Talking

Medieval monks and Egyptians as far back as 2400 BC were fully aware of the value of the honey bee for the production of food. Honey was the food of the gods and a highly sought-after trade currency in those ancient times. Regardless of the technological and agricultural advances over the centuries, bees are still fundamental to the production of food. Without them the people and animals of the world would simply starve to death. And, to bring it closer to home, crop farmers in South Africa, are wholly dependent on the health of the country’s bee swarms to produce food for a population that has burgeoned from less than 40 million 25 years ago to over 60 million today.


Above A bottle of the pure honey made from macadamia nut flowers.


Left Chairman of the KZN Bee Farmers’ Association and Managing Director at Peels Honey, Craig Campbell explains how wild swarms are attracted to domestic hives by smearing wax and honey onto the outside and inside of the boxes. He says the hives then smell “just like home” for any wandering swarm.

Campbell said for growers to be assured of healthy swarm supply during flowering, it was now more critical than ever, they talked to bee farmers well ahead of the season to secure their contracts in time to make sure they had a suitable supply for their orchards. “Unfortunately, there is this debate now between macadamia nut farmers and beekeepers over the cost of the hives. There is this misperception that we make a whole lot of money out of the honey. In reality, though, the bees are in the orchards to do a job. To pollinate the trees for a good nut set. We overload the immediate area with hives to produce a good nut set because less bees means less nut set. As a result, we put more hives into the orchards than usual which means there is less food for the bees. We get very little honey versus the investment we make into the preparation of the bee boxes, protective clothing, feeding of the bees and the cost of labour and the transport we use to get the hives into and out of the orchards.”

Further, during the off season it was critical to keep the bees in areas where they could find food to keep them healthy. “We have to remove the hives from the orchards in the off season because there is too little forage for them. The other debate is the use of pesticides. Again, this is where it is so important that growers and bee farmers are talking to each other. There are bee friendly pesticides and there are ways that the trees can be sprayed for pests - at night for example when the bees are not active - that will ensure the bees are protected.”


Campbell says he’s very careful not to stress his bees. “Very few people know about the term “fat bees and skinny bees”. Bees get protein from pollen and then carbohydrates from nectar. If the bees only get a single source of pollen and nectar for extended periods of time this can be unhealthy for them. To have healthy bees they have to keep getting enough food and a balanced diet. This creates a dilemma for us. We battle to keep colonies strong and healthy throughout the year, so we have to move them to different areas to make more food available to them.

He said ideally growers should be placing at least five hives per hectare for an ideal nut set. “Some farmers are happy with three hives per hectare, but we believe it is more effective to have between five and seven hives per hectare. Also, it is very important where the hives are placed in the orchards. Research has shown that the trees closest to the hives will have the better nut set, so it is no good putting all the hives in one row, or to the side of an orchard.”

Growers should also only use bee farmers that were registered with the Department of Agriculture which was a requirement by law, Campbell said.

The South African Bee Industry Organisation will host their annual conference in Pietermaritzburg on July 6th and 7th at the Royal show grounds under the auspices of the KZN Bee Farmers Association.

Left Mphile Majozi prepares a “super”- or wooden frame - filled with honey for extraction. The honey on this particular frame was made by bees placed in sunflower fields in the Free State. The wax is recycled and processed into wax sheets which are then placed in the “supers”.


Pioneering Cracking

TechnologyGives Khuvuka Max The Edge

As the macadamia production boom continues, processing facilities across South Africa are having to keep up to meet the exponential increase in the nut crop.


Above Owner of Khuvuka Max, Cobus Kok.

Above State of the art cracking and sorting equipment is used in the Khuvuka Max factory which has a processing capability of up to 6 000 tons a year

Khuvuka Max is the latest factory to open its doors and is offering world-class technology, resulting in greater profits for farmers and a sustainable processing industry in South Africa according to its owner, Cobus Kok.

Khuvuka Max, a grower-owned, non-contractual macadamia nut factory launched its new factory earlier this year in White River, Mpumalanga. The facility offers expanded processing capabilities and innovative cracking technology. “We have put tremendous time and effort into research and development. This has ensured that we have industry-unique equipment and processes in place, enabling us to add significant value to the macadamia industry through efficient processing and the delivery of a premium product,” said Kok. He said advancements in their factory included a more efficient method of cracking the nuts, resulting in a higher rate of whole nuts recovered, and consequently a higher payment rate to the farmer.

These innovations, Kok said, were pioneered by his late father, Louis, who bought the original Loerieskloof farm in Peebles Valley, near the Kruger National Park, as a retirement property in 1970. After planting macadamias on the farm Louis started doing research on the processing of the nuts because at that time the industry was still in its infancy. Louis’s research meant visits to a number of Mpumalanga factories and it gradually dawned on him that the method used to crack the nuts could be improved. Instead of cracking the shell inwards he realised that to force the shell outwards would put less pressure on the kernel and increase the whole kernel crack-out recovery rate. This method would also result in less shell dust adherence, dirt contamination and oil cell damage to the product. After extensive experimentation, Louis established a small processing plant in 1996 where he pioneered the new cracking method. What started out as a pilot production line to test the new technology has over the years grown into a processing business that is now ready to meet the industry’s growing needs.

GOING COMMERCIAL

Since the death of his father in 2009, Kok has continued his father’s legacy. Over the years the pilot plant has received improvements and expansions to supply Khuvuka Max’s increased kernel production. But with the macadamia industry booming, he decided the time had come to develop the infrastructure necessary to harness his father’s technology in a large, fully developed factory, that was open to other growers as well.

Manie Coetzer of WMC Sheet Metal Works, a complete mechanical design and engineering company dedicated to the development of production lines in Tzaneen, was contracted in 2012 to assist with improvements to the original design. The most significant change was switching from pistons to rotors and introducing an automatic single file feeder system. Louis’s big idea of forcing the shell to crack outwards, away from the kernel, remains central to the advanced technology in the 2 250m² factory.

The processing in the factory includes the drying of the nuts in-shell (NIS), cracking, sorting, grading, sizing, styling, the drying of the kernels, packing and quality control. In addition, the factory is designed to increase capacity in a modular fashion, when the need arises. “Our facilities make provision for the streamlining of NIS exports. If a suitable quality of NIS is delivered, we would be able to export them as quickly as they are delivered and dried. This would place us in a position to export more NIS than we would be capable of cracking, which would more than double the total capacity of our factory, to around 5 000 tons to 6 000 tons initially,” said Kok. In addition, Khuvuka Max complies with the stringent quality standards that international food trade bodies and authorities demand, with specific reference to the macadamia industry. And the factory will assist in offsetting a projected shortfall in processing capacity in South Africa, as the macadamia crop increases due to new plantings.

Barry Christie, operations manager for SAMAC, said the South African macadamia industry was growing at about 4 000 hectares a year, with more than 30 000 hectares already planted. Christie said as a result there was a demand for more processing plants to handle the increased volumes.

Khuvuka Max exports mainly to Europe and America, and qualifying NIS product to China. “We pride ourselves on supplying high quality macadamias to the local market, through reputable outlets, predominantly as roasted and salted product but with a fair amount of raw kernel also distributed,” said Kok. Top grade macadamias in South Africa were a “scarce commodity” and Kok said the South African Macadamia Growers’ Association (SAMAC) was working hard to clamp down on the many suppliers who supplied factory rejects to the local market as ‘choice grade’ product at a discounted - but still expensive - price. “This practice makes it very difficult for producers of true premium products to get into the market. Largely we have succeeded and people now know where to shop for excellent quality products,” he said.

LeftKhuvuka Max has opened its 2 250m² factory in White River.


As the harvesting season is in full swing, Mayo Macs Technical Manager, Andrew Sheard says management practices for May to July should prioritise nut maturity, harvest efficiencies, drying methods and pruning the trees in preparation for next year’s crop.

PRUNING

“Pruning the fruit bearing trees is crucial for opening up the canopy to allow sunlight in, to improve spray efficacy and allow for the development of the bearing wood for the next season’s crop,” Sheard said.

HARVESTING AND STRIPPING

“Mature nuts should be harvested every 7-10 days and dehusked on the same day,” he said.

“Nuts left in their husks can increase their temperature significantly if left for longer than 24 hours. It is also very important to adjust the de-husker for the larger, late cultivars such as A4 and A16. And then conducting a maturity test before stripping the orchard is crucial. By this stage of the season it shouldn’t be necessary to use a water bath to float the nuts, only if borer or nut immaturity is an issue.”

Ethapon sprays used for ripening, Sheard said, should not be applied to stressed trees, but rather they should be irrigated two days before spraying, and then the spray should be applied on warm to hot days using high volume sprays allowing for thorough coverage of the nut. He warned that Ethapon should not be sprayed ahead of a cold front and 816 and 791varieties should not be sprayed at all.

Expert Advice From Mayo Macs

For Sustainable Harvesting

While the harvesting season puts massive time pressure on farmers to deliver their macadamia nut harvest to processing factories, maintenance in the orchard remains a priority despite falling temperatures and reduced irrigation demand.


“Also spraying after mid to late June could negatively affect next season’s flowers and crop,” he said.

DRYING BINS AND CURING

Sheard said nuts should be cured in the drying bins for at least five days and nuts delivered to the processing plants or depots should be at a moisture content (MC%) of 10% or less.

“It is advisable not to exceed a curing or drying temperature of 32ºC because it can result in the nuts curing or drying too fast. A safe limit for moisture removal is at 2% a day. High moisture content and high temperatures can possibly cause discoloration and internal browning. And then on the other hand, over drying could result in brittle nuts meaning the grower will have fewer whole nuts,” Sheard said.

Above Technical Manager for Mayo Macs, Andrew Sheard in an orchard where mulching is a top priority to improve soil moisture content.


Further, he said, when using ambient air for curing there was a chance of the nuts developing mould because of the drying and re-wetting the nuts which was exacerbated by the current wet weather conditions. “We advise growers to run the fans continuously for the first one to two days after placing the wet nuts into the bins, then to switch the fans on at sunrise and off at sunset. This, by the way, doesn’t apply to bins using heaters,” he said.

Sheard said growers should have at least 30% of their total crop available for on-farm-storage.

NUT SORTING

Hand sorting once the nuts were delivered from the orchards to the on-farm drying facility should result in nuts with dark shells being removed, also any germinated nuts, those damaged by nut borer, those with pale shells or those with cracked shells.

“It really is important to sort the nuts again after the drying phase to check for any nut borer or false codling moth damage.”

SOIL NUTRITIONAND FOLIAR SPRAYS

Sheard said soil applied nitrogen fertilizers were usually not necessary now or should not exceed 10% of the annual nitrogen requirement unless blocks or cultivars were showing low leaf levels. Apply Zinc (Zn), Cu (Copper) and Boron (B) as soil applications in May and April.

“Post-harvest applications of soil nitrogen to Integrifolia (Integ) cultivars should only be done if the leaf nitrogen levels are more than 1.2%, or if the cultivar bore a crop of over four tons a hectare in the season. About 5 to 10% of the annual soil nitrogen requirement for these cultivars should be applied in April or early May,” Sheard said.

Also 15 to 20% of the annual potassium requirement should be applied in April and early May and both lime and gypsum could be applied simultaneously, he said. As the KwaZulu-Natal region in particular had enjoyed good rains soil moisture levels were good and with the onset of cooler weather, the tree water requirements were decreasing with April to June and early July being the months when irrigation requirements were at their lowest. Sheard advised growers to keep a close eye however on soil curves using the soil moisture probes and while it was safe to allow soil moisture levels to decrease it was important to keep them maintained within the autumn and winter “norms”. “I would say the water requirement in the orchards now is typically about a third of the November to January peak periods. Also weed control is not an issue now as the temperatures are much cooler and soil moisture is decreasing,” he said.

Above Mayo Macs Technical Manager, Andrew Sheard shows the importance of healthy, moist and well-mulched soils for top nut harvest results.

“It all starts in the nursery”

Any plant’s success starts in the nursery, propagating high quality trees ensures a good start to a new orchard.

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PEST CONTROL

Scouting for pests was an ongoing necessity particularly among the late cultivars as stink bugs, for example, could continue to damage the crop, as a result spraying should continue, however, chemical withholding periods must be adhered to.

Sheard said if husk rot and blossom blight were a problem in specific block or cultivars during the season he then suggested that the application of fungicides during June to reduce disease could be considered.

“It is very important that any “stick tights” caused by husk rot are removed during the harvest to also prevent the build-up of disease ahead of the new season. Farmers must also make absolutely sure they are using the latest Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association registered chemicals and the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) list,” Sheard said.

Above Foliar sprays of micronutrients and blends at this time of the year are usually not necessary however lime or

gypsum may be applied during this time of the season.


Rusty Mare, a macadamia farmer just outside of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, says that while every farm’s circumstances are different, there are several golden rules that need to be followed to ensure a prime orchard.

“You only get one chance to get it right. If you take short cuts in the beginning it will just end up costing you more and more each year to get the orchard functioning optimally.”

ORCHARD PREPARATION

Mare starts his land preparation by removing all the boulders with an excavator. “This is not always necessary, but I prefer an unobstructed orchard. A farmer can then choose between ripping only the row he is going to plant or cross ripping the field. I choose the latter because the trees grow faster as the soil is looser.”

Macadamia trees remain scarce and Mare has his own nursery on the farm. “I have paid my school fees for the nursery,” he laughs. “When I first started I used the wrong potting soil and at one stage had to throw away a whole batch. At some point it was more cost effective to buy trees from a nursery. But you have to take what

you can get, as all the varieties are not freely available. It is better to plan far in advance and either order the right cultivar or ensure you can cultivate it correctly on the farm.”

Mare says to get the most value out of the land it is important to get the tree density right. He believes 550 trees per hectare is optimal and does not believe in planting additional trees and then thinning out later. “It costs you to plant the extra trees and then to take them out. The additional revenue for the extra nuts you get from those trees is not worth it.” Mare plants his trees in a north to south direction. He says that it is important to note the angle of the sun coming into the orchard. “That, and the space the tractor needs to move through the orchard, is ultimately what should guide you when working out the spacing. The trees should also not be allowed to grow higher than six metres from the skirt of the tree, or you won’t be able to reach the top of the trees when spraying.”

He adds that when planning the orchard farmers must consider that once the trees are fully grown, grass will not grow under the trees so there is nothing to hold the water. The water run-off must be considered carefully.

Establishing An Orchard

You Only Get One Chance

Establishing a macadamia orchard is a costly endeavour that only pays off several years later. Mistakes made in this initial planning phase could adversely affect the crop down the line. Thorough research, careful planning and soil preparation are crucial to ensure that the orchard gets off to the best possible start.


Above Rusty Mare takes meticulous care when establishing a new orchard to ensure he gains the maximum advantage from his soil.


Since mechanisation is increasingly becoming a possibility, this must also be taken into consideration when planting. Trees must be spaced in such a way that a machine can get into the orchards to make it easy to harvest.

When choosing a variety to plant Mare says it is important to achieve a balance between crackouts and yield. “For example, the Nelmacs give a higher crackout but a lower yield and the Beaumonts are the other way around. It is important to spread your risk between the cultivars too. Beaumonts can take a bit of hail, while the other cultivars are sensitive to it. I also find that planting a mix of varieties in one block gives better cross pollination and therefore higher production. I plant four rows of Beaumont and one row of A4.”

IRRIGATION

Mare has installed drip irrigation in his orchards to reduce water usage. The drip system also requires a lower water flow than micro irrigation which means the whole farm can be irrigated at once, instead of block by block as would be the case with micro irrigation.

Mare further points out that micro irrigation is more expensive as the pipes are thicker and the system uses more water. Around 80mm of water is applied every week. The drip system does not wet the entire area around the tree. Rusty explains that the tree learns where the water and nutrients are coming from so it sends out hair roots which start growing in those areas. These roots then feed the whole tree. Liquid fertiliser is applied through the irrigation system. Soil and leaf analysis is done in November and a fertiliser programme is worked out accordingly.

IT ’S WHAT YOU PUT IN

Mare does soil samples before planting or applying anything to the soil. “I first determine what is already in the soil before just applying fertilisers. I need to know what the base is. For the next few decades growers are going to work hard to get everything they can out of their orchards so your soil needs to be at its optimum from the start. Otherwise it is a struggle year in and year out to get the soil to where it should be.” Mare first determines the pH of the soil. At 4.1 pH the soil is acidic soil which requires lime

Above Fields must be prepared so that trees can be planted on the contour lines to minimise erosion when there is heavy rainfall.

applications at 4 tons per hectare and phosphate at 100kg per hectare. He says chicken manure is also effective to build up carbon in the soil. He has specific prescriptions worked out for each block, which he combines with the chicken manure. This is applied to the soil in August.

Mare believes if the soil is at its optimum then the costs on the leaves are less. Generally nutrition for leaves is applied in the form of manganese, calcium, boron and iron. This is applied as a spray, which then gets the “nut factory” at its optimal before the tree must start producing. Mare applies nitrogen more regularly, but in smaller quantities three times a year, rather than a big amount once a year as it is more effectively absorbed this way. His meticulous way of farming has paid off and his yields and crackouts are far above industry average of 3,5 tons per hectare nut-in-shell (NIS). Mare achieves an average of 5,1 tons NIS per hectare across the varieties, with the Beaumonts going up to 6,3 tons NIS per hectare and the Nelmac and 816’s around 4,9 tons NIS per hectare. He averages an unsound kernel recovery of 1,6% and a crackout of around 42% sound kernel recovery across the varieties, while the industry average is 3% and 36% respectively.

Above Mare has installed drip irrigation on the farm as it uses less water and has a lower water flow, so

the whole farm can be irrigated at once.

Right Mare achieves higher than average yield and crackout due tothe care he puts into his orchards.

“ It’s not just one thing that needs to be done; it’s a whole bunch of boxes that need to be ticked to

produce a good crop. I do a lot of fine tuning in my orchards. There are short cuts and cheaper ways to do things, but for every rand you spend in the orchard you get back ten times in yield. The extra effort shows in my yield and crackouts.”

- Rusty Mare

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