LATEST ARTICLES

Macadamia farmers in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces need look no further than Vos Plant for all their orchard development requirements – from bush clearing to tree planting and everything in between. By Colleen Dardagan Top earth-moving machinery rental business...

How South Africa’s macadamia industry’s tackles the next chapter in its history will define the longevity of its influence on world markets and production standards, writes Alex Whyte, Executive Chairman of Green Farms Nut Company. By Alex Whyte As the world’s leading...

New research out of the University of KwaZulu-Natal suggests that the invasive Bugweed has compounds able to provide sustainable and affordable therapies, which includes treatment for cancer and for use in antibiotics. By Colleen Dardagan As most farmers are ardent...

The last two decades – evolution of macadamia orchard management in South Africa. By Philip Lee Many of the changes in horticultural management practices over the last two decades, and indeed the two decades before 2005, were precipitated by fluctuating world market...

By Colleen Dardagan On Easter Sunday, macadamia nuts were the star of the show for the 20 chefs battling it out for the R1 million award on SA Masterchef 2026. In the episode, contestants were tasked with creating delicious plant-based meals suitable for a modern...

Australian scientists are using green biotechnology to accelerate conservation banking efforts of six of the country’s exceptional priority plants, including the indigenous macadamia, M.jansenii. By Colleen Dardagan The project, led by Alice Hayward, a Plant Molecular...

By Colleen Dardagan The annual “one-stop-shop” AmberMacs Industry Day held in February was a cracking success. More than 3 000 people visited the two-day event and 145 industry suppliers and services exhibited – 80% of the exhibitors were at the show for the first...

Academics and NGOs are turning to macadamias for food security and crop diversity in southern Ethiopia and Malawi, where traditional crop yields are plummeting due to the impact of climate change. By Colleen Dardagan Scaled macadamia production in Ethiopia has the...

For the first time, more than 150 small-scale macadamia farmers in rural Limpopo will have access to a nut-processing plant, thanks to the vision of local commercial macadamia and horticultural farmer Gene Likhanya and the SAB Foundation. By Colleen Dardagan What...

Another wasp is making waves in South Africa’s macadamia industry, this time a natural predator of the felted coccid, which has arrived in the country and is under quarantine readying for release. The dominant regular predator of Australia’s naturally occurring felted...

Pictured Above: Hugo Bester Macadamia farmers across South Africa are hailing the parasitoid wasp, Trissolcus basalis, as a deadly strike weapon in their war on stinkbugs. Improved nut quality is proof of the insect predator’s success, they say. While Trissolcus...

On the day The Macadamia magazine went to print, SAMAC CEO Lizel Pretorius confirmed that South Africa’s macadamia exports were no longer subject to the additional 30% reciprocal duty into the United States. No fanfare – as when the tariffs were first imposed by US...

While the authors acknowledge there are other environmental benefits from reduced tillage systems and intercropping practices, they say greenhouse gas sequestration figures are not clear-cut. As a non-profit and politically independent organisation, agri benchmark...

While macadamia farmers in the irrigated north saved money on Eskom costs, growers in the south say heavier than usual rainfall increased disease pressure in their orchards. As rainfall in the first four months of 2025 exceeded the average annual rainfall for...

Dr Schalk Schoeman of Sonbesie Consulting offers valuable insights into the challenges and progress within South Africa’s macadamia industry. Drawing on years of field experience and research, he unpacks current pest management trends, the impact of shifting climatic...

The macadamia industry has seen its fair share of turbulence in recent months, with production volumes down in both of the world’s largest production regions, namely South African and Australia. Higher-than-expected tariffs into the United States have further muddied...

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s less-than-stellar performance at the White House earlier this year has cost South Africa’s economy dearly. By failing to persuade US President Donald Trump to exempt the country from his escalatory import tariffs, at least 22 high value...

MCT,1 a new macadamia variety, is known for its high consistent yield and high kernel recovery. These 8 year-old trees in Meadowlands, Australia have been cropping consistently since year 2. Long before macadamias became known as the "queen of nuts" on gourmet shelves...

Pictured above: Janet and Ian McConachie at the book launch late last year in Australia. While most Australians think macadamias originated in Hawaii, the nut’s most ardent admirer and advocate, Ian McConachie, has authored a detailed and extensive history aimed at...

Pictured Above: Delegates to the 2025 International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC) visited the Nuevos Cultivos Agrarios pistachio orchards near Mallorca. (Of interest is the lack of cover crops between the growing trees. Ed) After attending the 2025 International...

Pictured Above: An adult African Flap-necked Chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepsis) captured in the light of Chris James’s mobile phone. Scores of juvenile chameleons are being moved to safety by a Limpopo macadamia and avocado farmer, who first noticed them while out...