Dube AgriLab in Commercial Agricultural R & D

Dube AgriLab, launched in 2013, is fully operational and expecting an exciting year, with a number of research and development projects that have enormous potential for the agricultural industry.

Topping Dube AgriLab’s highlight list is the bio-reactor unit it is installing to enhance its plant culture capacity. This temporary emersion system, on trial for the sugar industry, is pioneering technology for South Africa. “Although the technology has been available world-wide for the past five years, its use is scattered,” says Marieke Mendes, Dube TradePort Corporation’s Senior Manager: Dube AgriLab.

It should provide a faster and less labour- and medium-intensive method of producing plants, thus speeding up plant delivery while reducing labour and input costs. If it proves successful, it could be used on other plant varieties.

“We are undertaking in-house research and development for a new technology to grow Macadamia nut trees from tissue culture. The Macadamia has become very popular and is currently the commodity showing the biggest growth, especially in KwaZulu-Natal,” says Mendes.

The concept is to take micro cuttings and inoculate them in a special growth medium. It is the recipe for this growth medium and the sterilising of the plant that the AgriLab is developing. For the commercial forestry industry, the lab is also researching a ‘recipe’ for Eucalyptus and Pine tree culture. “Breeders have selected new varieties of these trees and we are useful for bulking-up the young plants of these new varieties, after which they will continue with the normal practice of taking cuttings,” she says.

There is a lot of demand from high-value clients, such as those in the forestry industry. “A major project and one of the most exciting in the pipeline that will provide huge volumes for Dube AgriLab is that of producing bamboo shoots for a biomass-to-energy project,” says Mlibo Bantwini, Dube TradePort Corporation’s Executive: Dube AgriZone.

The project is being undertaken by a South African company that intends to replace its imports of the Indian-bred Beema Bamboo cultivar, which is digested for the production of power.

The bamboo is interesting in that it is a high carbon sequestrator, meaning it uses up carbon, thus contributing to the carbon neutral status of those companies that grow it. Dube AgriLab is expecting to grow 2,5 million bamboo shoots a year.

Growing young plants from tissue culture for the banana industry is also on this year’s project list. Bananas are one of those crops that are very susceptible to disease and for this reason most farmers have moved to tissue culture to ensure they only use disease-free plants. A limited number of seasons can be had from a single crop of plants before clean, disease-free material is required and the AgriLab aims to supply this.

Dube AgriLab expects to produce a million plants during the 2014/15 financial year, doubling this capacity in 2015/16. When at full capacity, the lab has the capability of producing five million plants a year.