Question❓| Upskill 📚 | Information ℹ️ | Picture 📷 | Special Offer 🎁

Edition 14

👋 Hey TropicalBytes family, welcome to this week’s edition of Q.U.I.P.S.!

As the fastest-growing subtropical farming community out there, we're thrilled to be your BFF (Best Farming Friend), saving you hundreds of hours by unearthing hidden gems like actionable tips, practical knowledge, industry insights, and so much more - all with the end goal of equipping you for excellence and success.

Before we dive into today’s edition, our ask is for you to please share your own creative ideas, ask any burning questions you may have, or let us know which topics you’d love to see covered.

Remember, we’re here for you - the awesome TropicalBytes community!

Let's dive right in! 🚀

Estimated read time: 3 minutes

In Today’s Email:

• Q: How’s the Sugar Industry Doing? 🤔

• U: Building a Bat Box 🦇

• I: The Latest Sugar Cane Varieties 🌾

• P: Cane Fires 🔥

• S: Nutrient Deficiencies 🌱 & Macadamia Cultivars Posters 🧬

Question❓

How’s the Sugar Industry Doing? 🤔

Ever since TropicalBytes grew to include new crops, and SugarBytes became what we are today, it feels as if sugar fell off our (agricultural) wagon. The whole shift happened when sugar hit a series of bumps in the road (like legislation, taxes and unprotected markets) and farmers actively sought other opportunities.

But, during a drive down the South Coast last week, the sight of many hills still blanketed in that beautiful swaying grass struck us as a potent reminder: sugar is far from forgotten…

What's more, sugar prices are not just back - they're back with a bang! R7222.95 was the RV price in June this year, nearly twice what it was when we turned our attention to macadamias.

Of course, we've seen the inevitable price fluctuations. However, last season's significantly low harvest in India has been a major contributor to the current high prices in South Africa. This is always a nice little boost for our farmers' wallets.

And with some more exciting news, SAFDA has said that the Department of Agriculture has approved R8m for a feasibility study. They're exploring the possibility of setting up a joint sugar mill and bio-refinery facility. If bio-fuel production takes off, who knows? Farmers might start giving sugar a second look. Exciting times!

Beyond all that, TropicalBytes hosts some rich content on cane farming that we’d like to share and so we’ll be digging out some gems from our “Sugar JAFF” archives, and build on that with fresh updates, like a sneak peek at a new variety… (see in the “Information ℹ️ “ section below 👇) and rekindling some Tropical sweetness.

⏰ Friendly Reminder: Got Any Questions? Submit Them Here to Be Answered.

Upskill 📚

Building a Bat Box 🦇

Bats are fantastic little creatures!

They eat eldana (a significant sugar cane pest) and stink bugs (our macadamia farmers' nemesis) so who better to build accommodation for than these little bug-gers!

Thanks to Wildlife Watch for a wonderfully simple instruction sheet on building a bat box; note the part about needing an adult… 🤣 

Initially, we were a little concerned about the narrow crevice they recommend, thinking that perhaps our South African bats might be a tad bigger than their British counterparts. But, after a bit of research, it turns out that a 2cm crevice is a good starting point to see whether you get any residents at that spec.

🤓 A Batty Fact: Bats are a farmer's best friend! Not only do they help control the insect population, but they also contribute to plant pollination. Records state that a bat colony at De Hoop Cave, numbering 300 000 individuals, consumes roughly 100 tons of insects annually! Because there are so many bats eating insects in this area the farmers are believed to be saving thousands on insecticides every year, not to mention the benefits for the ecosystem!

👉 You can find more interesting facts like this at: www.southafrica.com

A few of our JAFFs have placed high value on bats, building ‘hotels’ to host these allies in the war against crop-eating insects.

👉 Here’s one JAFF in particular → (link)

⏰ Friendly Reminder: Share Your Own Creative Upskill Tips Here

Information ℹ️

The Latest Sugar Cane Varieties 🌾

We recently caught up with a few favourites from the sugar industry and got a bit of insight into the latest cane varieties that have entered the game since we last played there.

There was one variety in particular that caught our attention: N12-Zapyr.

For those of you in the sugarcane world, you'll know that the pure N12 is somewhat of a legend. Released, in the rainfed regions, back in 1979, it's a hardy, high-yielding variety that thrives in pretty much any conditions. It even outperforms others during droughts. Plus, it has great ratooning: meaning that the same roots can be harvested many times, saving farmers on replanting costs. With a high tolerance of Eldana, it is great to carry over (past the short term 12 months cycle, to closer to 24 months) making it popular in the Midlands, the region for which it was originally intended.

NOTE: N12 was never intended for short cutting cycles and is now being outperformed by some newer varieties, which mature somewhat younger and yield high RV tons per hectare at about 18 months. Despite this, N12 is still popular in cooler regions.

But let's talk about weeds… specifically; creeping grasses like kweekgras (aka: Cynodon dactylon).

After two years, some fields can become completely overrun by this grass-weed, leaving farmers with the only reasonable option to remove everything, apply a herbicide that’s effective on these tough grasses, and replant the cane. But because the herbicide that works best has a residual period—and cane also being a grass—fields can’t be replanted until there has been enough rainfall to leach the chemical from the root zone. So if you've ever felt despondent watching your lawn succumb to weeds, you can sympathise with the struggles sugarcane farmers face.

Welcome to the stage: N12-Zapyr…

This new cultivar is a result of mutagenic breeding. In layman’s terms, it’s where sugarcane cells are exposed (in a lab) to a chemical mutagen. The mutated cells are then selected and grown into a ‘new’ cultivar that is tolerant of the chemical that the original wasn’t. In this case, it is the active ingredient; imazapyr; hence the name N12-Zapyr.

So now, N12-Zapyr can be successfully planted into soil, where imazapyr is still present. It’s a significant achievement for the industry and kudos must be given to SASRI who have brought this incredible science and solution to the industry.

NOTE: N12 Zapyr has only been released in parts of the coastal belt and Midlands and is not released in the irrigated regions.

A big thanks to SASRI for fact-checking our Info piece—even at incredibly late notice. We can’t wait to collaborate further and bring more value to our farmers.

Upcoming Industry Events

• NAMPO CAPE | 13 – 16 Sept

• International Macadamia Symposium (IMS ‘23) | 18 – 21 Sept

• PROPAK CAPE | 24 – 26 October

🚨 YOUR HELP NEEDED! 🚨

Our industry events list could do with some love, and who's better suited to help than YOU? 🫵 

Got an unmissable agri event in mind? Webinar, meetup, study group… you name it! Just click here and let us know the what, where and when, and we’ll spread the word to our entire TropicalBytes community.

Remember, sharing isn't just caring—it's how we grow together. 🌱

Can't wait to hear from you! 😁

Picture 📷

Cane Fires 🔥

Aren't we all just oddly fascinated by cane fires? There's a unique blend of adrenaline, fear, and fascination that these events stir up in us. It's genuinely captivating to get back to these sights.

⏰ Friendly Reminder: Share your farm pics, ideas, tips, or solutions with the TropicalBytes community to inspire one another, overcome challenges, and elevate your operations – together. Share Here

Special Offer 🎁

2 FREE Posters for You 🎁

And… we’re back with the posters!

This time, we're not just offering one, but two! It's our way of saying thanks for being a part of our growing community 💚

The first one is a comprehensive 'Nutrient Deficiencies' poster, perfect for helping you crack the code to healthier and happier trees. The second, our 'Macadamia Cultivar Characteristics' poster, it’s your handy guide to understanding the unique traits of various cultivars.

You can either click on each poster below to download them through the link, or simply click → here.

That’s a wrap folks! We hope you enjoyed this week’s QUIPS edition.

Don't forget to join us in the comments section below 👇 – it's kinda like a family Braai but better! There, you'll find no screaming kids, awkward photos, or tipsy uncles telling bizarre stories. Let's get the conversations cookin'! 🔥 

Until then, happy farming, deep learning, and warm smiles.

We'll see you next week! 🌱

The Comment Corner 💬

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