South African macadamia orchards endangered by tropical storm
The storm affected Mozambique, which has many new macadamia nut plantings, on Wednesday with winds over 100 kilometres per hour and severe rainfall of over 100mm.
“More than 100mm of rain in an hour would have a detrimental influence on our orchards causing soil erosion, which would wash away essential organic matter. It’s paramount to replace organic nutrients that may have been lost through compost, husk and chip material,” said Edwin Green, 200 hectare Green Farms Nut Company (GFNC) grower in Mpumalanga and Mozambique.
The 2017 growing season is in its infancy and flash flood rain is the key concern.
“The most immediate infrastructural repercussion is likely to be an overflow of rivers and dams. Pumps, which due to recent drought may have been moved closer to dams, need to be taken out of the flood zone. Overflows must be stable and able to handle the increase flood,” said Schoeman.
“Early season nuts on the ground need to be harvested as soon as possible to prevent losses. Periodic harvesting should continue throughout the next week with ongoing heavy rains expected,” continued Schoeman.
source: citizen.co.za
