ISHS Acta Horticulturae 347: II International Symposium on Integrated Fruit Production
THE MANAGEMENT OF CROP-PROTECTION PRODUCTS IN INTEGRATED FRUIT PRODUCTION OF DECIDUOUS FRUIT IN SOUTH AFRICA |
| Author: | Dr. M.C. Dodd |
| Abstract:
The deciduous fruit industry of the Western Cape in South Africa is export orientated with between 40 to 60% of production of certain fruit types being exported to the international marketing arena. The balance of production is either processed or consumed locally. To ensure that the quality of this fruit always meets with the most stringent quality requirements set by importing countries, as well as our local regulations, integrated fruit production guidelines have been drafted. Central to these guidelines is the management of crop-protection products. A system of grading the one hundred and twenty four locally registered cropprotection products has been devised which will ensure the continued economically successful production of deciduous fruit whilst upholding the principles and philosophy of integrated fruit production. This coding system has four categories and uses as its basis the local act governing agricultural remedies. The four categories are: (a) permitted, (b) not permitted, (c) permitted with restrictions, and (d) not permitted with exceptions. The first two are self explanatory. Permitted with restrictions imposes limitation on the use over and above the label of the product. The "not permitted with exceptions" category handles all the products that our industry wishes to phase out, but for which there is no suitable alternative available at present. Usage of products in this category is severely restricted and monitored, and producers who use these products will be heavily penalised. The implementation and implications of this system are discussed. The South African deciduous fruit industry is orientated to produce for local consumption as well as export to Europe and North America. The latter markets largely dictate the quality standards pertaining to the produce. Over the past number of years the EEC markets have become very environmentally conscious and the European farmers have been formalising integrated production strategies. The marketeers in these markets are expecting all fruit which they handle to conform to these production practices, irrespective of their country of origin. In addition to this certain crop-protection products registrations have been revoked by some nations. These factors have provided a very strong incentive from the marketplace to supply fruit grown in accordance with IFP practices. Furthermore the South African market has become more sophisticated and the public has expressed concern about crop-protection product residues and environmental issues in agriculture in general. The Cape fruit farmers have always been aware of and felt responsible for the environment in which they grow their trees. The reason for this being that this area is home to a very unique, rich and diverse flora, namely Flora Capensis. This floristic | |
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