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18 February 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo HO de Waal
Ground spiny Cactus pear
Shredded, sun-dried, and coarsely ground spiny cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica and O. engelmannii), ready to be included in balanced diets for ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, goats) and wild antelopes.

Prof HO de Waal, researcher in the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), has developed a standard procedure for the processing of spiny cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) into livestock fodder. This will ultimately assist in the management of massive infestations of spiny cactus pear and help to convert underutilised farmland back to natural grazing land.

In addition to applying biological control agents, mechanical control is used to harvest alien spiny cactus pear, and the large volume of material is processed as livestock feed.

 

Introduced to South Africa

 

Three hundred years ago, seafarers visiting the Cape of Good Hope introduced the well-known invading alien spiny cactus pear to South Africa. These were later transported inland and by the 1950s about one million ha of South Africa had been invaded by the alien cacti.

Some regions in the Eastern Cape have been taken over by dense, impenetrable thickets of these cacti. Invasive alien plants (IAPs) such as cacti pose a direct threat to, among others, South Africa’s water security and productive use of land.

A range of methods is used to control IAPs, including mechanical, chemical, biological, and integrated control methods.

A control programme must include the three phases of initial control to drastically reduce the existing population; follow-up control of seedlings, root suckers, and coppice growth; and maintenance control on an annual basis to sustain low alien plant numbers.

 

Processing spiny cactus pears

 

According to Prof De Waal, the harvesting and processing of the spiny cactus pear is fairly simple. Although it requires a good measure of physical strength, perseverance, and the necessary protective clothing, the cacti can be processed by harvesting the plants; shredding the cladodes through a cladode cutter; then drying them in the sun, and lastly grinding it in a hammer mill. “The long spines are degraded mechanically by grinding the sun-dried cladode strips in a hammer mill before including it in balanced livestock diets,” said Prof De Waal.

Infestations will be opened, reclaimed, rehabilitated and the natural pastures (veld) allowed to revert back to grazing for livestock.

The National Resource Management Programme (NRM)P) will be approached for official support in clearing and rehabilitating massive areas of infestation by alien spiny cactus pear in the Eastern Cape. Such financial support will be an investment in reducing the infestation by invaders and the rehabilitation and sustainable use of natural resources in South Africa.

News Archive

Machinery and equipment to the value of R6 million acquired by UFS Instrumentation Division
2015-07-02

Photo: Supplied

At an information session held on the Bloemfontein Campus, the Instrumentation Division in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) introduced its new Computer Numeral Control (CNC) machines to the value of R6 million.

Initially, the primary aim of the Instrumentation workshop was to design, produce, and maintain special research equipment which is unavailable on the market, mainly for academic departments. The small-scale production focused on producing support material and equipment for research work.

However, with new equipment and machinery the Division now also can deliver a service to corporate companies and external associates.
 
The CNC machines include a 5-axis Vertical Machining Centre from Haas imported from America. This is one of only four in South Africa, with two in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town.  The lathe makes it possible to produce sophisticated parts, which were previously cumbersome and difficult to make. The machines also cover a wide spectrum in the mechanical field such as the the FLOW Water Jet, which cuts a wide variety of material ranging from titanium to wood without utilising heat, thus saving electricity. This makes it possible to cut a wide variety of materials.

With the new machinery now available, the Instrumentation Division is able to perform high quality and quantity production with precision.

“The advantage of the machinery is that it stimulates production, and is much faster and more accurate than the conventional way of doing things,” said Pieter Botes, Head of the Division.

Botes explained that, by having students and professional artisans at the university design and manufacture equipment, costs are reduced when compared with the expensive nature of equipment and tools found in the market. In addition, “the machines broaden the scope of research conducted” said Botes. The technical dynamics of the machinery advances the scientific knowledge needed to operate it, so bridging the gap between theory and practice.

The Central University of Technology, Signs Division Bloemfontein, Product Development Technology Station (PDTS), Maizey’s, and Knottco Truckparts are some of the university’s trade partners.

The workshop collaborates with the Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, Botany, Agriculture, and Electronics departments, as well as the Institute of Groundwater Studies at the UFS, and others. These departments receive services in the form of pipette stands, containers for test tubes, bottles, laboratory trolleys, stands for cadavers for Anatomy, pump repairs, stainless steel bailers, filaments, and heaters.

The Instrumentation Division is, therefore, a vital support unit for the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences as well as the university at large.

Companies, institutions, or individuals who need the Division’s expertise may contact Pieter Botes on botespds@ufs.ac.za.

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