The South African Sugar Association Experiment Station, Agricultural Engineering Department conducted a series of semi-mechanised versus fully mechanised harvesting trials on a large commercial estate in Swaziland over the 1998/1999, 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 seasons. During the trials machinery performance was measured, differences in the quality of cane delivered to the factory were determined,...

The Ord River Irrigation Area is 3200 km NE of Perth on latitude 15 30’ S, at an altitude of less than 100 m, with rainfall of 800 mm. Water is supplied from the vast Lake Argyle, soils utilised for agriculture are predominantly black montmorillonitic clays and topography is generally very flat. Growing conditions are superb for most tropical crops. Out of a total of 11000 ha under irrigation, ...

Lignocellosic ethanol production is now at a stage where commercial or semi-commercial plants are coming online and, provided cost effective production can be achieved, lignocellulosic ethanol will become an important part of the world bio economy. However, challenges are still to be overcome throughout the process and particularly for the fermentation of the complex sugar mixtures resulting fr...

An epidemiological study was undertaken in a sugar cane plantation of the Sugar Company of Kwilu Ngongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to evaluate the incidence of the snakebites, to report the epidemiological and clinical indicators and the therapeutic practices. The plantations extend by 41 km covering about 10,000 hectares in arboreal savannahs. The method associated i) a retrospe...