The Wessels brothers from Karsrivier recently won the South Cape Canola competition with a yield of 2,05 tons per hectare and a gross margin of R2 654 per hectare.
Competition coordinator Charl van Rooyen congratulated the brothers, but said he was disappointed that many farmers used unregistered seed this season.
“Unregistered seed was sold by farmers to farmers for around R7/kg compared to registered seed, which cost between R35 to R48, depending on the cultivar. You cannot expect to produce high yields and good-quality products with this seed,” Van said. He added the use of unregistered seed could be the reason why the canola yield is only 38% of the average wheat yields in SA, while it is almost 55% in Australia. Low yields can, however, be attributed to the fact that the SA canola industry is still young and it will still take a while for the crop to become well established. – Glenneis Erasmus
