The main focus areas of the Division are :
Development of
technologies and management systems for Resource Limited
Farming
This program focuses on the development of information
systems to address the needs of Resource Limited Farmers and to facilitate
technical and financial linkages between communities, organizations and
institutions. This program's includes the training and education of farmers of
the second economy in South Africa how to use table, raisin and wine grapes
and/or skills involved as a resource to lift their standard of living. The
division provides education on emerging issues through workshops, on-farm
demonstrations and applied research, informational materials and personal
consultation. Examples of current areas of focus are alternative farming
systems, small-scale and urban agriculture, integrated pest management, soil and
water quality protection and farmland preservation.
Cultivation of table
and raisin grapes
The main objective is to develop vineyard
management systems to grow grapes with specified quality attributes and
accelerating the adoption of environmentally sustainable vineyard practices. The
projects of this program focus on practical management techniques to increasing
the yield and quality of table and raisin grapes under South African conditions
in order to be competitive on the international markets.
Cultivation of wine grapes
The South African Wine Industry is committed to produce grape
and wine of high quality to meet challenges of increasingly competitive national
and international markets. In order to achieve this goal, it is vital that the
mechanisms controlling the composition of the grape berry be understood. The
general objective of the projects of this program is to determine the effect of
soil, climate and management practices on grape composition and wine
quality.
This program also includes the maintenance and expansion of a
Vitis gene bank witch provides genetic material for cultivar evaluation as well
as raw material for breeding purposes and taxonomic, physiological and plant
pathological studies. Cultivars and clones that are available from breeding
programs throughout the world are being assessed for their adaptability for
production. Special emphasis is given to material that gives economical returns
to the producers and is acceptable to the market while being adaptable to lower
input of nutrients pest control materials, and water.
The people of the
Division occasionally network with other national and international institutions
and organisations to establish and maintain scientific relations with other
scientists.
Several overseas scientists spent some time in the plant
physiology laboratory of Prof. Hunter .to study the biochemistry and factors
involved in the optimal ripening processes of wine grapes.
Contract research for national and
international clients Numerous new products are annually released in
the viticultural sector. Chemical companies often approach the division to
evaluate new and existing products in trials. Though the active ingredient of
products maybe similar, differences in the formulation could pose a problem to
the producer due to possible negative effects such as berry blemishes especially
in the case of table grapes, berry abscission or phytotoxicity.
Objectives
To apply its knowledge in practice in order to facilitate the
successful cultivation of grapes within the profile of the South African
population profile.
To do research in order to broaden our knowledge of the vine,
wine and scientific methods, ensuring that problems of the grape industries can
be approached with greater confidence
- To develop and evaluate cost effective cultivation practices
- To present our research results to information services, extension officers
and producers
This is done through:-
Contributions in Scientific Journals and the annual SASEV Congress
Presentation of modular courses in viticulture
Short courses in table grapes in the Northern (Upington) and Western Cape
(Goudini)
The division is well served by its staff during this period.
They never hesitate to go above and beyond the call of duty to better the
organization and to achieve the milestones set in each project.
