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CROPS Biological Farming
46 farmer�sweekly 16 DECEMBER 2016
�The manufacturers persuaded
me to use the unit for trial
purposes. The results were
quite unexpected,� he recalls.
Whereas average production
amongst Ashton Winery
producers in the region decreased
19% in 2010, average production
at Middelplaas increased
between 8% and 41%. Vines and
trees also seemed healthier.
�Trees and vines that I�d written
off to disease, pest problems and
old age actually started producing
viable crops again,� Fritz says.
He explains that oxygenated
water helps to soften and improve
irrigation water quality by
Many consultants and
farmers dismiss the
idea of �farming
with nature� as pie in the sky,
arguing that the omission
of chemical fertilisers and
pesticides has a negative impact
on production and renders a
farm unprofitable over time.
However, Fritz Breytenbach,
who applies biological farming
methods to his wine grape
production and canning fruit
business in the Western Cape,
has experienced the opposite:
his production volumes have
increased, while his input
costs have come down.
Sterik de Wet, CEO of Ashton
Winery, confirmed this: �The
quality of Fritz�s wine grapes is
so outstanding that they sell as
soon as they hit the barrel, in
spite of tight market conditions.
He has also been among our
top five producers in terms of
wine grape quality and income
per hectare for the past five
years.� (See Tables 1 and 2)
Fritz, who farms on
Middelplaas and Wakkerstroom
in the Robertson Valley, says
that the overuse of herbicides
results in poor soil condition
and has a negative impact on
the soil�s humus content.
�My decision to use fewer
chemicals is rooted in the
impact these products have
on the humus content of the
soil. Just a 1% increase in the
organic content of your soil
could result in the soil holding
170
This is especially important
in light of climate change and
the predicted impact this will
have on farming in the future.
�When I look at other farmers�
vineyards and orchards, their
soils look like cement slabs
to me. Unless they�re using
cover crops, there�s nothing to
buffer soil temperatures.�
OXYGENATED WATER
Fritz�s biological farming
journey started seven years
ago, with the installation of
Puricare�s Soilcare unit in
his micro-sprinkler system.
The unit produces activated
oxygen, which is pumped
into the irrigation water.
Seven years ago, Fritz Breytenbach, a wine grape producer in the Robertson Valley, embarked on his biological farming journey. Today, he is reaping the benefits by producing almost double the regional production average using the same inputs as neighbouring farmers. Glenneis Kriel reports.
�A 1% INCREASE IN ORGANIC CONTENT CAN INCREASE SOIL�S WATER-HOLDING
CAPACITY BY 170 000L/HA�
How biological farming can improve profit
ABOVE:
Fritz Breytenbach is one of Ashton
Winery’s top wine grape and canning
fruit producers. He won the Ashton Canning Producer of the Year award in 2015 due to the high quality of his
canning fruit. PHOTOS: GLENNEIS KRIEL
16 DECEMBER 2016 farmer�sweekly 47
destroying pathogens, while
reducing salts and oxidising
metal pollutants in the water.
�This is a great benefit in
the Robertson Valley, where
most farmers have to deal with
brackish water during the
winter months. Last winter,
dry conditions made the water
so saline that it was unsuitable
for commercial production.�
Oxygenated water can also
increase water infiltration
rates, reduce soil compaction,
lower soil water pH, increase
electrolyte concentrations
and accelerate biological
degradation of organic matter.
�Puricare claimed that the
activated oxygen would help
to unlock soil nutrients that
were previously unavailable to
plants. To test this, I stopped
fertilising the orchards and
vineyards. I also stopped
planting cover crops, allowing
weeds to serve this purpose.�
The result was a marked
improvement in soil structure.
Softer natural grasses, such
as ryegrass and rescue grass,
displaced broadleaf weeds such
as tall fleabane, narrowleaf
ribwort and burweed. Fritz was
so satisfied with the outcome that
he installed a Puricare unit on
his other farm, Wakkerstroom.
To better understand these results
and take production to the next
level, Fritz turned to books
written by the great biological
production gurus, including
Gary Zimmer�s The Biological
Farmer, Neal Kinsey�s Hands-on
Agronomy, Graeme Sait�s Nutrition
Rules and Charles Walters�s
Weeds: Control Without Poisons.
Hans Ellis, executive director
at Cumgro, became Fritz�s
production advisor, and Fritz
asked him to read all these
books to ensure that they
shared and understood the
same approach to production.
�The books made me realise
that I needed to focus more
on soil health if I wanted
to produce healthy plants.
You need to feed the soil to
feed the plant,� Fritz says.
ALBTRECHT SYSTEM
He started using the Albrecht
system to analyse and monitor
soil nutrient levels. According
to this system, certain major
elements must be present in the
soil in a particular ratio. And
since soil can contain only a
certain amount of nutrients, an
excess of one nutrient will result
in the deficiency of another.
Saline water used on the farm
has resulted in soil with high
sodium and magnesium levels.
Fritz uses gypsum, with 20%
Frtiz Breytenbach’s conversion to biological farming methods started with the use of oxygenated water.
Frtiz uses weeds as cover crops.
Organic plant and soil nutrients are used as often as possible.FA
ST F
AC
TS
TOP:
Weeds help to keep soil temperatures low, while serving
as a habitat for beneficial organisms.
ABOVE:
Fritz in one of his vineyards. The
weed population today consists
mainly of rescue grass (Bromus wilnomi) and
ryegrass.
CROPS Biological Farming
48 farmer�sweekly 16 DECEMBER 2016
carry minerals, even those that
are immobile such as calcium,
magnesium and iron, from plant
surfaces into plant tissues. Fulvic
acid also stimulates oxygen
uptake, making plants more
heat- and drought-resistant.
Fritz adds that fulvic acid is a
fungal stimulant, whereas humic
acid is a bacterial stimulant.
He also uses Karabos products,
which contain beneficial
organisms, to boost soil life and
suppress harmful organisms
such as snails and nematodes.
Nematodes have been absent
for seven years; it is only
recently that they have
begun to appear again.
�Instead of using harmful
chemicals to get rid of the
pathogenic nematodes, I�ll
boost the levels of bacteria
that feed on them to get the
calcium and 17% sulphur, to
strip the soil of excess cations. He
warns, however, that gypsum
should only be used if there is
about 60% calcium, according
to the Albrecht soil analysis,
otherwise excess cations
cannot leach out of the soil.
Soil samples taken in 2013
revealed that Fritz�s soil pH
became more uniform, while
calcium levels increased to
more acceptable levels.
�Calcium is very important,
as it helps to open up the soil
and, in effect, enhance soil
aeration,� he explains.
FEEDING THE SOIL
Various organic products are
used to improve soil health
and the soil�s nutrient status.
�I wanted to use compost, but
it didn�t make economic sense
to produce it myself or buy it in.
Instead, I started using poultry
manure on every second row to
boost potassium and phosphate
percentages,� says Fritz.
Humates, composed of various
forms of carbon, are also used.
Humic acid is applied via
irrigation every second week.
According to Hans, humic acid
helps to unlock certain elements,
such as potassium and nitrogen
complexes, making the soil less
volatile and prone to leaching.
�Humic acid also binds to clay
particles and form complexes
that can hold up to 16 times
more minerals than clay, thereby
enhancing the soil�s cation
exchange capacity,� Hans says.
Soils with phosphate shortages
are given rock phosphates
in addition to humic acid.
Nitrogen is supplied via Vita
NS40 and ammonium sulphate.
�Farmers should stop buying
cheap nitrogen sources, as
more than half of the nitrogen
in these sources tend to
leach out,� Fritz says.
Fritz addresses plant shortages
through foliar feeds, and says that
before starting this practice, he
used to experience a production
ceiling with his vines and
trees. He also sprays boron and
calcium, along with the required
trace elements, in early spring
to boost fruit set, and applies
fulvic acid to address shortages.
Hans explains that plants are
unable to absorb humic acid, as
its molecules are too large. Fulvic
acid, with its small molecules, can
TOP:
On some of his lands, Fritz has stopped deep ripping before establishing new vines or trees.
ABOVE LEFT:
Hans Ellis is Fritz’s production advisor, and someone with whom Fritz can discuss production ideas.
ABOVE RIGHT:
Oxygenated air is pumped into the irrigation water to oxygenate the soil.
WHITE GRAPE YIELD INCREASED
64% FROM 2014 TO 2015
16 DECEMBER 2016 farmer�sweekly 49
�The drawback is more tractor
hours, as I use the mulcher up to six times a year to manage the weeds. On the positive side, using weed as a cover crop is much cheaper than planting a cover crop and you use fewer herbicides,� he says. Cut plant material remains in plant rows. Whereas plastic sheets
were used to keep the weeds out of the plant rows in the past, weeds are now allowed to grow inside plant rows. �It�s too labour-intensive to remove them and they don�t have a negative impact on production anyway.�
While Fritz tries to use as few herbicides as possible, he still uses Roundup to keep kikuyu and couch grass under control.
�These weeds are a problem. You need to take action before they get out of control.� Fritz
says that switching to biological farming methods was a
lonely journey, but seeing the improvement in soil structure, soil health and production has helped make up for this.
�The soil�s carbon content has increased from 0,07 parts per million to 0,81 parts per
million over the past seven years, while in 2015 the white grape harvest was 64,34% better than
in 2014, and 30,22% better than in 2013. Production volumes in vineyards older than 20 years increased from 14% to 44%. The farm achieved the highest gross income at Ashton Winery � more than R75 000/ha � out of 59 farms.
�One can still make a living from traditional commercial production practices, but for how long will chemical fertiliser and pesticides be economically viable? If you continue to use herbicides, you�ll sit with the same problems 10 years from now, but with poorer results.�
Email Fritz Breytenbach at
[email protected] or phone
023 615 1956, or phone Hans
Ellis on 023 615 1490. FW
population balance back in check. I�ll obviously have to do this every few years, as the population balance is bound to be disturbed because of farming practices over time,� he says.
WEED MANAGEMENT
Fritz initially struggled with weed management when he decided to use weeds as cover crops. Now weeds are controlled by cutting them down with a mulcher.
TOP:Weeds are cut down with a mulcher up to six times a year. The cuttings are thrown into the plant rows by the mulchers.
ABOVE:Fritz farms on Middelplaas and Wakkerstroom in the Robertson Valley, with 34ha dedicated to the vineyard, 7ha to canning peaches and 2ha to Bulida apricots.
Table 1: Average production results for Ashton Cellars for 2015: red cultivars
CultivarTons/ha
MiddelplaasTons/ha
WakkerstroomTons/haRobertson
Cabernet Sauvignon
15,36 9,53
Merlot 27,02 19.82 14,81
Ruby cabernet 27,86 26,24 17,98
Shiraz 15,96 27,08 14,04
Tinta Barocca 24,48 17,76
Total average 23,54 20,44
15,42t in comparison with Middelplaas
13,75t in comparison with Wakkerstroom
Table 2: Average production results for Ashton Cellars for 2015: white cultivars
CultivarTons/ha
MiddelplaasTons/ha
WakkerstroomTons/haRobertson
Chardonnay 26,99 23,14 13,88
Chenel 30,05 30,05
Chenin blanc 36,81 18,27 19,04
Colombar 38,96 24 24,37
Muscat de Frontignan
25,07 36,72 13,85
Sauvignon blanc 37,06 25,58 18,40
Total average 34,27 26,23
19,12t in comparison with Middelplaas
19,13t in comparison with Wakkerstroom