Tomato Day in Mooketsi

Tomato information day 

By Jane Fourie (Vegetable Product Manager, Syngenta) 

Syngenta hosted a tomato information day on August 14th, 2012, at Shiloh Crown Lodge in Mooketsi. This day was a joint collaboration between Syngenta, Crown Seeds and Lowveld Agrochem. 

Israel’s Zeraim Gedera’s tomato breeder, Joel Siegal, flew to South Africa to be one of our keynote speakers. Joining him on the day was Agriscience’s Kobus Serfontein and Syngenta’s Desiree van Heerden. 

Both growers and channel representatives like processors, market agents and supermarket representatives from the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West provinces were invited to participate in the informative talks and to view the demonstration plots. 

Joel Siegal gave an overview of the new ZERAIM varieties for South Africa after which all delegates walked through the demo plots displaying these varieties. 

Kobus Serfontein offered valuable insights on Bacterial Spec and Spot. This was followed by a discussion about plant diseases on tomatoes and the subsequent virus control thereof by Desiree van Heerden. 

Lowveld Agrochem concluded the disease management section with an overview of their recommended spray programme for tomatoes. 

Over 180 guests enjoyed a hearty lunch at the Lodge at the close of this insightful day.