Latest Technology Improves Macadamia Quality Output

Achieving the near impossible, Dian Pretorius reduced unsound kernel recovery in his macadamia crop from 6% to 1,7% over just one season, adding R1,7 million to his profit in the process. He spoke to Lindi Botha about the technology that helped him achieve this improvement.

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Macadamia farmer Dian Pretorius from Brondal, Limpopo watched as his unsound kernel recovery (USKR) percentage rose year after year. Averaging under 3% in the late 2000s, it steadily climbed to reach 5% and then over 6% in 2018, causing his profits to dwindle. Then, in a single year, Pretorius dramatically reversed the decline, so much so that he received a quality award at his local processor, Green Farms Nut Company, for the 2019 season.

In the macadamia industry, the 5% USKR mark is regarded as critical; once farmers exceed it, they very seldom recover. Instead, it tends to rise steadily thereafter.

Barry Christie, group agricultural technical manager at Green Farms Nut Company, notes studies where farmers’ USKR was measured over five seasons.

“In general, growers who ended under 5% USKR in 2018 came from a slightly higher USKR, whereas those that had 5% USKR or higher only got worse. It’s statistically unlikely to get out of the trend once you exceed 5%, unless you change something drastic.”

He adds that the orchard will never be completely free of pests, but once a farmer has a high pest load, it becomes difficult to manage.

“If you have 90% control of 10 insects, as opposed to 90% control of 100 insects, you’re that much better off. Once you get to a critical mass of pests, it becomes very hard to control.”

Knowing the make-or-break point all too well, Pretorius set about investigating his pest control regime on his family’s farms spread across the Lowveld in the Brondal and Kiepersol areas.