Farmer’s Weekly – 23 August 2019

Thislocallydeveloped,dual-purpose meat and white

woolbreedthrivesin semi-aridregions.

Foliar sprays of calcium nitrate
can be used to supply calcium.
Magnesium may also be deficient
in acid soil, in light soil, or in soil
very high in potassium. To rectify
the problem, spray the plants
with magnesium at 5kg/ha.
Cabbage is highly susceptible
to molybdenum deficiency.
As soon as you notice signs of
this, spray the plants with 125g
sodium or ammonium molybdate
per 500ℓ water per hectare.
To increase the availability
of molybdenum, provide
enough lime before planting.
Iron may be applied with
a foliar spray containing 1%
iron sulphate or chelate. An
iron deficiency is common on
calcareous, alkaline soils.
Manganese deficiency often
occurs in soil with a pH of more
than 5,5. Use a foliar spray of
manganese sulphate at a rate of
5kg/ha, or manganese oxide at
2kg/ha to 3kg/ha, as soon as you
see symptoms of deficiency.
There may be a boron deficiency
if the area has high rainfall; use
Solubor at 3kg/ha to rectify this.

• Irrigation
  Irrigate cabbage immediately
  after sowing or transplanting.
  Thereafter, irrigate at intervals of 10
  to 12 days in heavy soil, or eight
  days in light soil, until the heads
  are fully developed and firm.
  Young plants should receive
  enough water for vegetative
  growth before forming
  heads. Excess moisture after
  theheadshaveformedmay
  causethemtocrack.


• Weedcontrol
  Weeds can be controlled
  mechanically or by hand, as
  well as by applying herbicides.
  Carry out mechanical cultivation
  during land preparation until
  the plants are about half-grown.
  The first cultivation should
  be done two to three weeks
  after transplanting.


• Source: ‘Production guidelines for
  cabbage’, Directorate Agricultural
  Information Services.


• Retrieved from http://www.nda.
  agric.za/docs/Brochures/
  ProdGuideCabbage.pdf. ▪FW

Sheep

SA Mutton Merino

Originallyknownasthe

GermanMuttonMerino,

thefirstsheepwereimported

fromGermanyin 1932 by

thedepartmentofagriculture

fora breedingprogramme.

Therequirementwasfora

sheepforthewinterrainfall

areasthatcouldutilisewinter

grazing,lambinautumn,

andrearthelambsquickly

formarketbeforethe

grazingdeterioratedinthe

drysummermonths.

CrosseswithMerinoewes

yieldedlambswithgood

carcassqualities.By1946,

therewerea numberofprivate

breeders,anda German

Merinomeatsheepbreeders’

associationwasfounded.

TheSAMuttonMerinowas

developedthroughselection

forbetterwoolqualityand

conformation.Theuniqueness

oftheSouthAfricanbreed

wasrecognisedin 1971 when

thebreednamewaschanged

totheSAMuttonMerino.

Description

The SA Mutton Merino is a

large-framed breed with a

fleece of pure white wool, free

of kemp and coloured fibres.

Rams and ewes are polled. The

breed produces good-quality

wool with an average fibre

diameter of 21 to 23 microns.

Ewes produce an average

of 3,4kg of wool, while

ramsproduce4,5kg.

proDuctionnorms

The breed puts on fat at a later

age and can be slaughtered

at a heavier live weight.

Fat is distributed evenly

over the carcass. Lamb

carcasses of 27kg are still

classed as A2 or A3. White

wool is medium to strong,

and over-crimped.

The breed is also used for

sire lines in crossbreeding

programmes, and produces

heavy crossbred lambs.

The breed has contributed to

the development of the Afrino,

Dohne Merino and Dormer

sheep breeds, among others.

• Source: Snyman, MA. 2014.
  ‘South African sheep breeds:
  Suffolk sheep’. Info-pack ref.
  2014/029, Grootfontein Agricultural
  DevelopmentInstitute. ▪FW

23 August 2019 farmer’sweekly 41

ABOVE:

While not a true

land race, the SA

Mutton Merino was

developed through

selection for better

wool quality and

conformation.

FW ARCHIVE