The use of scientific research in commercial agriculture: Case study of leafroll research in the South African wine industry

The project (2015-2016) implemented the ‘productive interaction’ approach to research impact assessment, and is a study of research uptake and use. It investigated how winegrowers in South Africa interact with research-based knowledge, specifically with local research undertaken on control strategies for leafroll disease. The focus was on whether, how and in what contexts winegrowers engage with available research-based knowledge, using leafroll research as a case study. The working assumption was that the spread and uptake of research-based information take place within a network that is focussed around various research-stakeholder interactions.