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The Maize Information Guide (MIG) 2007 released by the AR CGrain Crop Institute at Nampo is a mine of information. Among other things, it gives the following important guidelines in cultivar planning: Never replace a reliable cultivar with a new or unknown cultivar in a single season. Cultivar variability divides the risk factor. Use a series of cultivars which differ in length of growing season and other characteristics. Cultivars must be adapted to a specific yield potential; however, they should also be able to utilise increased potential conditions and still deliver an acceptable yield at reduced yield potential. Cultivars with wide adaptability can play a role under these conditions. Cultivar choice should be revised annually. It is strongly recommended that farmers consult seed supplier representatives on the suitability of the new cultivars in their production area. For example, in regions that could supply planned ethanol production facilities, farmers may be interested in maize cultivars with high total fermentable (HTF) content. These can yield up to 7% more ethanol than maize with a low HTF.
Yellow Maize AFG 4418 B, AFG 4434 R, AFG 4414: All these cultivars are widely-adapted hybrids with a medium growth period and high yields. They perform well at all yield potentials, have few tillers and dry rapidly. They have good standability and good general resistance to diseases. AFG 4448: This medium growth-period, high-yield hybrid performs well at all yield potentials. It has with high prolificacy, few tillers and good general resistance to diseases. Plant at 10% higher population than normal. A must in all packages. AFG 4540: A top performer in all areas, it has excellent grain quality and a high thresh percentage and bushel weight. It displays good heat and drought tolerance, excellent anthesis and silk synchronisation and good disease resistance. It can also be used for silage. A must in all eastern and western production areas.
White Maize AFG 4321: A short growth-period hybrid with good yield and few tillers. It has good standability and good general resistance to diseases, and performs well at all yield potentials. AFG 4411: This is a medium growthperiod, high-yield and widely adapted hybrid that performs well at all yield potentials. It has high prolificacy, few tillers and dries rapidly. With good general diseases resistance, it is a must in all packages. AFG 4611: A top performer with an excellent grain quality, high thresh percentage and bushel weight. It displays good heat and drought tolerance, excellent anthesis and silk synchronisation and good disease resistance. It is suitable for early planting in the eastern and western production areas. For more information contact Afgri Seed on (017) 647 6431 or visit www.afgri.co.za.
Yellow Maize NK Arma: A medium-ear type with medium to low cob height, excellent standability, quick dry-down, good grain quality and a top yield under irrigation. Recommended plant populations in the east are 40 000 for dryland and more than 80 000 for irrigated land; in the west, over 80 000 for irrigated land. Flowering occurs at 68 days. SC 602: This is a thick-girth cob type with high ear and plant height, slow drydown, 148 days to physiological maturity, excellent yield, very good grain quality and very good for silage. Recommended plant populations in the east are higher than 36 000 for dryland. Flowering takes 68 days.
White Maize SC 709: A cultivar with excellent yield potential, which can be used as silage. It needs 65 to 78 days to 50% flowering and 133 to 173 days to physiological ripeness in warmer to temperate areas. It has excellent resistance to grey leaf spot and rust, with moderate resistance to northern leaf blight and Diplodia cob rot. It has excellent standability in high and low rainfall regions.
Canola AV Opal: An outstanding earlymaturing variety for oil, AV Opal has very good early seedling vigour and maturity and 7,5 Blackleg rating, conventional type. It is recommended for areas with 350mm to 400mm annual rainfall.
AV Jade: This is another canola cultivar with very high oil content. It has very good early seedling vigour, early to mid maturity and 7,5 Blackleg rating, conventional type. It is recommended for areas with 350 to 400mm annual rainfall. Sunflower AGSUN 5383: This cultivar shows excellent yield potential, 1,9m to 2m plant height, 2% additional oil content, good stem and leaf disease resistance, 69 days to flowering and 130 to 140 days to harvest. AGSUN 5671: This high oleic hybrid with black seed reaches 1,8m to 2m plant height. It has excellent yield potential, 41% to 43% oil content and very good disease resistance. It takes 67 to 69 days to flowering and 130 to 140 days to harvest.
Grain Sorghum Banjo and Overflow: Two Australian sweet-grain type hybrids also suitable for malting. Both are medium-growth types with good cold and midge resistance, as well as good standability, heat and drought tolerance and grain quality.
Lupin Man delup – Narrow Leaf Lupin: This lupin displays moderate anthracnose resistance and high stem-blight resistance. Its improved aphid resistance means less use of pesticides. It is robust with excellent yield potential and early vigour. The harvest height is superior in low-rainfall areas. Early maturation makes it suitable for crop-topping.
Beans Farah – Faba Bean : Ascochyta (seedstaining) resistance. This bean shows good yields, similar to Fiesta, and moderate resistance to chocolate spot and rust. Cairo – Faba Bean : High levels of disease and rust resistance characterise this bean cultivar, which is a good fit in a no-till system. This is an early-flowering variety with good yield potential and seed quality.
Fodder and Pasture Crops Nugene – Fodder Oats: A semi-erect, late-maturing oat that produces palatable feed from an early or late planting. High-yielding late into the season, it has high crude protein and metabolisable energy levels. Suitable for livestock grazing and hay production, it establishes fast and is very early to first grazing, with rapid regrowth after grazing. It is suited to most soil types and has a wide planting and grazing window.
Agri Sweet – Forage Sorghum: This late-flowering hybrid has a very high sugar content. Suitable as a ley crop and green chop, and is very palatable and digestible. It is adaptable in all areas and particularly suited to later plantings. It has moderate resistance to leaf blight and some species of rust, and gives excellent yield as a single-harvest crop.
Campeda – Sub terranean Clover: This cultivar has mid-season maturity with 123 days to flowering and greater winter vigour and growth than Woogenellup. It has high total herbage production and a high level of hard seeds (29%). It also has good disease tolerance and regeneration. It is suited to most soil types and for use in areas of lower rainfall and cropping rotations.
Antas – Sub terranean Clover: A large, hard-seeded, late-maturing variety adapted to neutral to alkaline soils. It requires a longer growing season, but has excellent winter and late-season productivity. An erect growth habit and good spring productivity make it suitable for hay and silage production. It has moderate resistance to Pythium and Fusarium.
Urana – Sub terranean Clover: This early-flowering crossbred variety has high levels of hard seed and low formononetin levels. Seedlings and adult plants of this cultivar have slightly better resistance to redlegged earth mites than other cultivars do. It is suited to low-rainfall areas.
McNeil – Balansa Clover: This clover shows excellent vegetative growth in spring. It is well adapted to wet conditions (annual rainfall of 450mm and more). It yields an average of 1,4 million seeds/kg. It can be used for hay or grazing and has relatively good resistance to wilting.
Caprera Crimson – Crimson Clover: This is a soft-seeded annual clover with a long bright crimson flower head, well adapted to a wide range of soil types though it prefers acid soils. It tolerates clover scorch. It gives multiple grazing, producing large amounts of dry matter. It is a highly nutritious feed with good levels of digestibility. Extended spring production under irrigation is possible and it shows reasonable tolerance to transient waterlogging. It shows excellent recovery from heavy grazing.
Casbah – Biserrula pelecinus: A midseason variety suitable for intensive pasture crop rotation. It is suited to slightly drier environments with 325mm to 500mm annual rainfall. It is appropriate for fine-textured soils with acidic and alkaline reactions, including sandy loams and clay loams. It has a deep root system and grazing tolerance.
Mauro – Biserrula pelecinus: This late-maturing variety has lower hardseededness and is better suited to extended pasture phases. It is suitable for use in fine-textured soils with acidic and alkaline reactions, including sandy loams and clay loams, and for regions with 450mm to 700mm annual rainfall.
Vaquero – Cynodon dactylon (Forag e Bermuda grass ): This cultivar provides a broad genetic background for a wide area of adaptation and shows improved resistance to pests and diseases. It provides higher dry-weight yields; improved forage quality, tonnage and persistence; early spring green-up; and improved cold tolerance. It is best as a monoculture and is less expensive to plant, as well as being a great choice for four- to five-week cutting intervals in a hay production programme.
Scimitar – Spineless Burr Medic: With early- to mid-season maturity and 85 to 90 days to flowering, this adaptable variety is highly productive and grows in a wide range of different soil types. It has an erect growth habit with high herbage and seed production and a high percentage of soft seed (24%). It is suited to temperate areas with a total rainfall of 350mm to 500mm. It can be grazed in the first year of sowing, providing fresh feed in winter and spring and dry feed in summer and autumn. Scimitar is free of leaf diseases but has low resistance to blue-green aphid. It fixes nitrogen, which is valuable for subsequent crop rotations. Contact Cliffe Deacon at Agricol on (018) 294 7470, 083 441 0242 or visit www.agricol.co.za.
Yellow Maize DKC 63 – 16 B: A cultivar well-suited to ultra-short growth seasons, with very high yield potential, resistance to maize-stalk borer, good disease tolerance and standability. It is excellent under irrigation, though it is suited to both dry and irrigated land. It performs very well under higher plant populations.
DKC 66 – 36 R: Tolerant to Roundup herbicide, with good disease tolerance and standability. Fast for dryland eastern areas. It performs very well under higher plant populations and is suitable for irrigation.
DKC 66 – 32 B: Resistant to maizestalk borer, this cultivar has good standability and is fast for dryland east. It performs well under high plant populations and is suitable for irrigation. White Maize
DKC 78 – 35 R: This Roundup Ready Plus cultivar is strongly multi-eared with very high yield potential, excellent standability, very good grain quality and heat and drought tolerance. Contact Magda du Toit at Monsanto on (011) 790 8254, 082 388 0187 or at http://www.monsanto.com/pages/default.aspx
Yellow Maize PAN 6010: This falls into the early growth-class and is highly prolific. This single-cross hybrid also holds great promise as a silage hybrid. PAN 6010 is a complementary hybrid with PAN 6026. PAN 6P-110: A new single-cross mediumgrowing season hybrid, one of the most prolific in the Pannar stable. It has very good grain quality and has performed well in the western and eastern regions.
PAN 6D-256: A new hybrid that has performed well in both the west and the east. It falls into the medium-growth class and displays good standability, leafdisease resistance and good grain type. It is likely to develop into a leading hybrid.
PAN 3D-736BR: This stacked-gene hybrid is stalk borer and Roundup herbicide resistant. It is similar to PAN 6126 and PAN 6236B, which are both trend-setting hybrids with outstanding performance under irrigation in the areas west of Johannesburg.
PAN 3P-730BR: A stacked-gene hybrid with resistance to stalk borer and Roundup herbicide. It is similar to PAN 6114, PAN 3D-432B and PAN 6238R, with the same good agronomic characteristics and adaptability in the eastern production region. PAN 3P-730BR is recommended under irrigation and for dryland. The plant population recommendation is the same as for other ultra-early hybrids in the package.
White Maize PAN 6723: This is one of the most exciting hybrids in the eastern region and seems promising on high-potential soils in the west. It is agronomically sound, with good standability, and has good tolerance to Diplodia cob rot and grey leaf spot. This hybrid is recommended as complementary to PAN 6611. It falls into the medium growth-class and shows good tolerance to high aluminium levels in soil.
PAN 6P-563R: Pannar’s first white Roundup Ready hybrid, similar to PAN 6013B. It is in the medium-growth class and is an exceptionally attractive singlestemmed prolific hybrid, although not as single-stemmed as PAN 6013B. It shows good standability and should do well over the entire maize production region. The recommendation is to increase the plant population when planting this hybrid.
PAN 4P-767BR: A stacked-gene hybrid that offers both stalk-borer resistance and Roundup herbicide tolerance. It fits into the early-growth class and is similar to PAN 6017, with good adaptability and standability. It is also highly prolific and has general disease resistance. This hybrid must be planted at an increased plant population.
Specialised silage hybrids PAN 7M-97, PAN 69, PAN 8M-95: These three new late-season maize silage hybrids have a longer drying-off period which conveniently extends the window period for ensiling. All three exhibit high yield potentials, excellent leaf disease resistance and very good stay-green qualities. They are regarded as specialised silage hybrids, as they mature too late for grain production in South Africa. These hybrids have produced excellent yields and high-quality silage in KwaZulu-Natal.
Soya beans PAN 538R7: This new cultivar is a good all-rounder, best suited to mid-season planting dates and normal row widths and plant populations. It is recommended for all production regions.
Sunflowers PAN 7036: A cultivar that is resistant to all the major strains of downy mildew (Plasmopara halstedii) and recommended in areas where this fungus is a problem. A medium growing-season hybrid with high yield potential and stability.
PAN 7034: A hybrid in the medium growing-season class with excellent yield potential and stability. It has high oil content and black seed. Recommended for all the sunflower production regions, it complements PAN 7351.
PAN 7031: This high-oil, single-cross cultivar falls into the medium growingseason class and is well adapted to all the production regions, with excellent yield potential. It has a uniform plant type with good standability. It is a must for producers who are compensated for oil content, as it produces top oil yields. Complementary in a package with PAN 7351, PAN 7355 and PAN 7033.
PAN 7048: This hybrid combines excellent yield potential with aboveaverage oil content and resistance to all current species of common rust (Puccinia helianthi). A full-season, three-way cross with excellent yield stability. It is recommended in all areas where common rust is a problem.
PAN 7043: A cultivar with an exceptionally high oil yield per hectare and excellent yield potential. It is a good choice where a premium is paid for oil content. It features black seed, uniform plant type, medium to late growing class and slow drying.
PAN 7049: As top performer in the Pannar trials in 2005/6, this hybrid has excellent yield potential. A uniform, fullseason hybrid with resistance to all current species of common rust, it is recommended in all sunflower production areas.
PAN 7050: This uniform, full-season hybrid with excellent oil yields is resistant to all current species of common rust. It has a characteristic shorter plant type •for easy combining and is recommended in all sunflower production areas.
Forage and Pasture Crops PAN 263: New AR C stooling rye variety with better midwinter growth than PAN 233. It has a similar growing season to PAN 233.
SOROM: Quick spring-type stooling rye suitable for late plantings in June, July and even the beginning of August.
CALIP SO: This Berseem clover is an annual with excellent regrowth and yields similar to ryegrass. There are no recorded cases of prussic acid poisoning. It can be used for grazing, hay, silage or green manure. Cut or graze at 35cm to 45cm, down to 5cm height. As it exhibits autotoxicity, it should only be planted on the same land every third year.
SARDI 7: This lucerne cultivar has intermediate dormancy: class 7. This new variety with high yield potential, which is well suited to hay production or grazing, will replace Eureka. A thin-stemmed variety, it dries relatively quickly. Contact Pannar Seed head agronomist Pieter Rademeyer on 082 776 5583, at head office on (033) 413 9500, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.pannar.com.
Yellow Maize KKS 8400: A multi-eared, medium growth-period, high-yielding hybrid with good grain quality, disease resistance and standability. It is recommended for the western and eastern production areas.
White Maize KKS 8401: This excellent medium growth-period hybrid displays balance in yield, adaptability, disease resistance and grain quality. Strongly multi-eared with good heat and drought tolerance, it is recommended for the western and eastern production areas.
Fodder Crop WL 711: This is the first dormancy lucerne variety available in SA. It is highly active in winter and has rapid regrowth following each cutting. It performs outstandingly in warm production areas with long day lengths and does better in sandy soils. It delivers outstanding yields of high-quality hay. Contact K2 Agriseed agronomist Riaan Roselt on (018) 293 1233, 072 515 0303 or visit www.saadbemarking.co.za.
Yellow Maize Phb 31G58: A medium to short hybrid, this is well adapted to eastern and western areas. It has excellent agronomics, good resistance to leaf diseases, and exceptional characteristics and plant appearance.
Phb 33R78B: This short-season hybrid carries the YieldGard gene. It is an excellent irrigation hybrid, suitable for ethanol production. It offers top yields and standability.
Phb 32D95BR: The stacked-gene hybrid of the well-known Phb 32D99 genetics. It is suitable for ethanol production and gives excellent grain yields under all production conditions. Its genetics make it a yield leader under irrigation. It is drought tolerant and has good dry matter production with excellent silage capability.
Phb 31D48B: This new short hybrid has stalk-borer resistance. It offers high yield potential and is suitable for irrigation.
Phb 30H48B: This new medium-season hybrid also has added stalk-borer resistance and strong prolific characteristics. Its good leaf-disease resistance makes it suitable for all dryland conditions.
White Maize Phb 32B10: This is a short-season hybrid with excellent grain colour, suitable for food processing. It has good standability and resistance to ear rots. It is well adapted to areas under irrigation and suitable for ethanol production.
Phb 32Y85: The top-yielding shortseason hybrid. It performs under dryland and irrigation conditions with good prolificacy and leaf-disease resistance.
Phb 30B95B: This medium-growth hybrid with stalk-borer resistance has the same genetics as Phb30B97. It is suitable for the dryland western areas and is planted at very low populations. It shows strong prolificacy, exceptionally fast dry-down characteristics, and great seedling strength and vigour.
Phb 30Y79B: A medium-growth hybrid with the YieldGard gene. It is suitable for the eastern and western areas and is planted at normal and very low populations. It features exceptional yield potential, good standability and quick dry-down, and great seedling strength and vigour. It is suitable for ethanol use.
Phb 30D07B: This hybrid with stalk-borer resistance falls in the medium growth season class and has the same genes as Phb 30D05. It is well adapted to the eastern and central areas and can be grown for dryland and irrigation purposes. It has exceptional yield potential, good standability and resistance to leaf diseases.
Phb 30D04R: The medium-season hybrid with the Roundup Ready gene. It has the same genes as the leading hybrid, Phb 30D05.
Phb 30D09BR: This is the stacked-gene version of the well-known Phb 30D05.
Phb 31M81: The new leader in the short growing season, it has strong agronomic characteristics, excellent grain quality and great resistance to leaf diseases. It can be used for the “Early Corn Early” concept and performs best at higher populations.
Phb 31M80R: This Roundup Ready short-season hybrid has the same genetics as Phb 31M81.
Phb 31M84BR: The stacked-gene version of the exciting new Phb 31M81 hybrid. Contact Nico Engelbrect at Pioneer Hi-Bred RSA on (012) 683 5700, 082 801 2981 or visit www.pioneer.com.
Wheat SST 835: A cultivar that is resistant to yellow rust, mildew and Karnal Bunt, with a solid stem that provides excellent standability. It is adapted to all irrigation growing areas in SA. Three-year yield data from national cultivar trials shows that SST 835 came top in cooler central irrigation areas, warmer northern irrigation areas and KwaZulu-Natal, and fourth in the eastern highveld irrigation areas. Contact Magda du Toit at Monsanto on (011) 790 8254, 082 388 0187 or visit www.monsanto.co.za.
