Summer is around the corner, which means our farmers are working overtime preparing for their summer harvests. Dr Lerato Matsaunyane, researcher at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), gives us her best tips for preparing for this busy period.
Matsaunyane, who has always had an interest in science, started her agricultural journey at university, where she studied genetics. A plant geneticist by trade, she now focuses her time on supporting farmers.
“I [have] shifted a bit now from doing your genetic type of research and to focusing more on farmer support, commercialisation of products that we develop in the lab, as well as enterprise development.”
She gives farmers six tips to maximise their yields this summer.
Invest in your soil
Matsaunyane says soil care is of utmost importance to having a successful summer yield. In her experience, many farmers underestimate the power of caring for their soil, especially because it is generally the only piece of land they have available for production.
“If your venture is such that you are going to produce long term, you need to make sure that your soil health is at its peak. One of the things that I normally recommend for farmers is that they need to dabble in organic [soil care]. By organic, I’m talking about compost or chicken manure, etc, to increase the organic matter in the soil.”
Matsaunyane explains that when you use normal synthetic fertilisers that contain NPK – which is nitrogen and phosphorus and potassium – the nutrients are readily available for the plant to take up during production. Once the plant is fed and harvested, it leaves the soil without nutrients.
“As soon as you finish your production cycle, the soil is depleted of nutrients because the plant has taken up those readily available nutrients you applied it in the form of a synthetic fertiliser. Using compost and manure, however, helps enhance soil health. You are increasing the microorganisms in the plant, in the soil, and you are also assisting in opening up the soil pockets.”
Feeding your soil
Soil pockets are vital for root health, she explains, and also aids the water retention in the soil. She recommends mulching as another way to hold soil moisture.
“It also helps to protect the healthy microorganisms in the soil, and to protect them against the sun. If you use organic mulches, you contribute to weed reduction so that when you are sowing, you don’t have to go through the laborious task of removing weeds.”
Elements you can add to your mulch includes wood chips, shredded leaves, newspaper, and cardboard.
“Around this time, people normally add manure to the grass in their gardens to make sure that, come summer, it’s nice and lush and green. But with agricultural production, you need to make sure that the organic matter is actually in the soil, so you need to apply it and turn it so that it goes into the soil.”
Though soil analyses can be expensive, Matsaunyane explains that knowing your soil characteristics is very important. For farmers who are not yet able to do get their soil assessed, she recommends a simple texture test.
“Sometimes, just to get the texture of the soil, take a cup of your soil and add water to it. You can roughly estimate the type of soil that you have. Is it a bit clayish? Or is it sandy? Is it loom? Or is it a combination?”
Get good seeds
Matsaunyane says farmers need to take care of the quality of seeds they purchase or use. She explains that many smallholders remove the seeds from produce they bought and dry them for planting in the next season. This does not always work.
“You need to make sure that the quality of your seed is correct, because remember, once you bury the seed in the soil, nature needs to take its course. For it to show a bit of shoot or for the plant to grow, you need to make sure that when you’re burying a seed, you’re burying something that will actually emerge from the soil.”
An important part of seed selection is the selection of the correct cultivar. Your cultivar, she explains, needs to yield the kind of results you desire for your operation.
“For example, you would find cabbage with smaller heads and then those that have large heads, so be sure of the cultivar that you want to plant so you are actually realising the yields that that you are interested in.”
Match your crop with the correct planting time
It is also important, says Matsaunyane, to look at the planting times of the different crops. Examples of summer crops, for instance, are green beans, pumpkin, and squash.
“For these crops, you can start sowing now so you don’t run into problems because you planted at the incorrect time. Planting times are there to assist and act as guidelines because the crops react differently to different climatic conditions.”
Water access
Matsaunyane’s most critical recommendation is ensuring water access throughout your production cycle.
“Check the availability of water for the duration of the production. You don’t want to get to a part where you have no water available to irrigate because that will create a problem for your yields.”
She explains that, in some instances, if there are prolonged periods where water is not available, you might actually end up losing your whole production.
Ensure your market before you start planting
Market access is an issue for many farmers, which is why Matsaunyane urges farmers to ensure their market before they start farming.
“Don’t just plant for the sake of planting. Know your market and be sure that whatever it is that you are putting in the soil will be something that will be taken up. You don’t want to have a situation where you have a whole lot of crop or vegetables, but then there’s nobody to buy them.”
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