N E W S & V I E W S • D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 25 In Vryheid, Ivan Niebuhr gave a first-hand account of his experiences in establishing green wattle to replace the more difficult to establish black wattle variety. Ivan has yet to clear-fell a mature stand of green wattle but indicated that there is not a huge difference in the volume obtained at first thinning between the species. Time will tell, and at least they have a crop in the ground that will produce fibre and bark. Terry Wolhuter, situated in New Hanover, has been experimenting with green wattle for a while, particularly on sites not suited to cane or black wattle due to cold. So far, he is seeing some positive results. Other topics discussed were the establishment of wattle and how critical these operations are to ensuring a successful crop. Friedel Eggers highlighted the need to prune wattle and when. He stressed that wattle did not need to be pruned for aesthetics but rather as a corrective intervention to ensure a dominant single leader. He recommended that the old method of pruning the branch a hands length away from the stem be increased to the length of elbow to fingertips which prevents disease from entering the stem. Pruning should only be done before the tree is taller than 2m. Poor planting results in J-rooting and wind throw. J-rooting is caused by poor pitting practice. Field demonstrations further illustrated the correct way to pit. At the demo sites, Paul Vero discussed cost-effective pitting methods and Stihl SA demonstrated their mechanical pitting machine used extensively in forestry. At the various demonstration sites, the importance of maintaining a weed-free stand until canopy closure was emphasised repeatedly. Fertiliser use and its application was a topic of great debate. A major recommendation being the use of 150 grams of 2:3:4 placed in a circle around the seedling / cutting and 20 cm distant from stem. NCT, on behalf of the wattle industry, thanks the speakers and sponsors for their time, effort and support towards making both wattle field days a huge success. Craig Norris discussing wattle clones during the New Hanover field day Discussion around a seed sown Green Wattle block on Terry Wolhuter’s Farm Friedel Eggers discussed weed control and showed growers how to stake wattle trees that had blown over due to wind without damaging them as they recovered Midlands Spraychem demonstrated their planting tool to the growers in Vryheid, one method of preventing J-rooting
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