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International research shows that high crop loads are associated with high water demands. However, CSIR senior researcher Dr Sebinasi Dzikiti explains that no information currently exists on the water requirements of high-yielding apple orchards in South Africa and elsewhere. Thus, to support apple growers in a country saddled with water challenges, the CSIR has partnered with the Water Research Commission (WRC), the Agricultural Research Council, the South African Apple and Pear Producers Association represented by Hortgro Science, and the Universities of Stellenbosch and Pretoria to determine the water requirements of fruit trees with a particular focus on apple trees, from planting to full bearing age.
The National Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Awards, is hosted under the auspices of the DTI co-funded, national Composites Cluster with a wide scope including the key drivers of the 4th industrial revolution. Awards nominations close on July 27.
The challenges and opportunities in the plastics industry in South Africa will top the agenda at the annual Innovation Forum taking place in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, 11 July 2018.
The event is organised by Plastics SA, in partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to encourage innovation in the plastics industry. The objective of this forum is to enable collaboration between firms in the plastics sector and research institutions such as the CSIR.
CSIR and Transnet engineers are developing the first 13 units of a system that monitors the condition of Transnet’s locomotives, following the earlier successful deployment of two prototypes. The system will enable Transnet to implement predictive maintenance and detect rail infrastructure defects.
Transnet Freight Rail requires the ability to track and trace its fleet of locomotives and determine its condition. Currently, the staff offload data from some of the systems on board the locomotives manually.
The founder and chief executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Prof Klaus Schwab, has stressed the importance for government, civil society and business to work together to ensure the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) are distributed equally in society.
Speaking in Pretoria today, at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) 6th Emerging Researchers Symposium, Prof Schwab said the world must embrace the 4IR, “as it would be the aspect of our lives for many years to come”.
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Founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Professor Klaus Schwab, will deliver the keynote address at the 6th CSIR Emerging Researchers Symposium in Pretoria, on Thursday, 28 June 2018.
Prof Schwab is regarded as the father of Industry 4.0 and his talk at the symposium is titled “mastering the fourth industrial revolution”.
Featuring on radio, in newspapers and even making it to the top three of a competitive television show, the inventor of a diabetes breath analyser certainly has had a bumper year. The CSIR’s Dr Bonex Mwakikunga developed the Breath-Tech diabetes breath analyser after seeing the pain that his young, diabetic daughter had to endure every time she had to have her finger pricked to test her blood sugar levels.
How would you define water security? Is it the constant flow of water from the taps in your home or do you feel secure knowing that rain has been forecast and the dam supplying your region is full? CSIR water experts conducted a qualitative interview-based analysis to determine a definition of water security. They found that water security is a state of mind based on an individual’s context. They recommended that policymakers should heed this context in responding to issues of water insecurity.