Cronjédeliversconventional
maizetomillerswhoprefer
thisproductandarewilling
topaya premiumforit.
Althoughthepastseason’s
rainfallwasbelowaverage,rain
fortunatelycameattheright
time.Cronjéstartedplanting
PAN4A-111on 26 November
andis highlysatisfiedwiththe
crop.Theplantpopulationwas
34000 plants/ha,withaninter-
rowwidthof91cm.Thehybrid
delivereda goodaverageyield
of8,1t/ha.Asit toleratesleaf
diseaseswell,Cronjédidnot
havetosprayanyfungicide.
“PAN4A-111is recommended
asa conventionalhybrid,butalso
asa glyphosate-toleranthybridor
withstackedgenetechnology,”
saysJansevanRensburg.YELLOWMAIZE
SpreadingriskwithPannar’s
robustmaizepackagecanhelp
a farmerachievea goodcrop
evenduringdifficulttimes.
“Theyellowmaizehybrid
PAN5A-182fallsinthemedium-
earlygrowthclassandis very
prolific.It emergeswellandhas
goodtolerancetoleafdiseases.
Intimesofdrought,I’drecommend
plantingthishybridinthis
area,”saysJansevanRensburg.
Cronjéstudiedtheperformance
ofPAN5A-182atPannar’strials
beforedecidingtoplantit.“Iwasveryimpressedwiththe
hybridat thePannarExtravaganza,
andmyownyield,afterplanting
thehybrid,is reallypleasing.”
Thecobs,headds,werefilledto
thetipdespitea difficultseason,
andproducedgolden-yellowgrain.
“Wegotrainattherighttime,
eventhoughtheseasonasa
wholewasquitedry.Thisland
receivedonly364mmuptoMay,
whichis belowaverage,but
theintervalsbetweenshowers
favouredus.Inaddition,the
emergenceofthemaizewas
verygoodandtherewere
noleafdiseases,”hesays.
Cronjéplantedtheyellow
hybridat 34000 plants/haon
28 November,andinspiteofa
fewcoldnights,allwentwell.hErbIcIdEsAndfErtILIsEr
Heappliesa pre-emergenceand
a post-emergenceherbicide,and
usesconventionalcultivation
methods.Hisfertiliser
programmeincludes360kg/ha
ofa 3:0:1mixanda topdressing
ofLANata rateof360kg/ha.
Therecommendedplant
populationinthisareais between
30000 and 34000 plants/ha.
Cronjéharvestedatthe
endofJuneandhisyield
fromPAN5A-182forthe
seasonwas6,9t/ha.- PhoneTinusJansevanRensburg
on 082556 9325.
promotional article
ABOVE RIGHT:
From left: Freek
Cronjé, Tinus Janse
van Rensburg
(Pannar) and
Omri Cronjé.
LIZA BOHLMANNTo spread their exposure to risk,
it is advisable that farmers include a
variety of maize hybrids in a planting
package. Pannar’s conventional
non-GMO hybrids make it possible
for farmers to deliver grain to niche
markets and achieve good yields.Dryland
maize hybrids
surprise in
a tough year
O
n Panvlei farm between
Heidelberg, the Vaal
Dam and Vereeniging,
maizefarmerFreekCronjé
usesvarioushybrids,including
PAN3A-173, PAN 4A-111 and
PAN 5A-182 from Pannar.
ThePannarrepresentative
inthisdistrict,TinusJanse
vanRensburg, visited Cronjé and
his brother, Omri, to find out how
their maize crop was performing.
“PAN 4A-111 is one of our
top white maize hybrids in the
medium-early growth category
and performed remarkably well
in the Agricultural Research
Council national trials,” says
Janse van Rensburg. “This hybrid
usually produces one large cob,
but is relatively prolific under
favourable growing conditions.
A farmer needn’t worry about
emergence as it’s a hybrid with
particularly good vigour.”
Cronjé strongly recommends
PAN 4A-111 to other farmers as
a conventional (not genetically
modified) maize hybrid in
the area where he farms.
“Its yield is good and
it produces good-quality
grain. It’s important to me
to deliver a quality product
to the miller that I supply.
“This hybrid is a stalwart
that we happily use because
it achieves a yield of between
6t/ ha and 8t/ha on dryland.”9 AUGUST 2019 farmer’sweekly 25