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A maize hybrid has to prove itself where it matters most: in the field. For farmer Sam Nkosi, PAN 5R-582R has shown the resilience, yield potential and disease tolerance needed to perform under challenging dryland conditions, while Pannar’s technical support continues to help him make confident production decisions.
Every farming season presents a new set of challenges, which is why Sam Nkosi of the farm De Goedehoop near Ermelo in Mpumalanga believes in testing new genetics before committing to them on a larger scale.
This season, PAN 5R-582R has delivered exactly the kind of performance he looks for in a maize hybrid.
Sam grew up on the farm where his father worked, but he never studied agriculture formally. “I learnt as I went along,” he says. “Whenever I need assistance, I phone the technicians. They help me with whatever I need, and that’s how I’ve learnt to farm.”
That openness to learning is one of the reasons Sam regularly plants hybrid trials. Rather than relying on reputation alone, he wants to see how each hybrid performs under the conditions on his own farm.
Among the maize hybrids Sam evaluated this season, PAN 5R-582R stood out for several reasons.
“It has good disease tolerance, it yields well and it’s a strong plant,” Sam says. “You can see its growth is exceptional.”
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Based on its performance, he expects dryland yields of between 10 and 12 tonnes per hectare.
One of the hybrid’s greatest strengths, he believes, is its medium maturity.
“A medium-maturity hybrid can handle difficult conditions much better. If you experience a dry spell during the season, it still has the ability to recover afterwards.”
Ironically, this season presented the opposite challenge.
The Ermelo area experienced exceptionally high rainfall, with totals far exceeding what the region would normally expect.
“Our maximum rainfall used to be around 800 mm,” Sam says. “Last season we received about 1 500 mm, and this season we’re sitting at about 1 300 mm. Things have changed dramatically.”
Heavy rain during critical growth stages affected some shorter-maturity hybrids, but Sam was impressed by how PAN 5R-582R handled the conditions.
“You could see it coped much better,” he says. “Some of the shorter-maturity hybrids struggled because the excessive rain came at an important stage of development.”
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For Sam, selecting the right hybrid is only one part of managing risk. Equally important is planting hybrids with different maturity classes. His Pannar representative advised him not to rely on a single maturity class.
“I used to plant mainly medium hybrids,” Sam says. “But the advice was to spread my risk by planting shorter-, medium- and longer-maturity hybrids. One season one maturity group may perform better than another, depending on the conditions.”
He says this strategy has become increasingly valuable as weather patterns continue to change.
Technology also plays an important role in his hybrid choices. Sam values the advanced genetics incorporated into Pannar hybrids, as well as the traits that help protect crops against stalk borer.
“The technology helps us a lot,” he says. “Some of these hybrids have traits that control stalk borer, which means you don’t always have to spray.”
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Alongside hybrid selection, Sam follows a disciplined production programme that includes annual soil analyses, correcting pH with lime where necessary, and applying fertiliser according to soil requirements. He rotates maize with sunflowers.
For Pannar sales representative Caiphas Muyambo, Sam’s belief that farming is a continuous learning process is one of the maize farmer’s greatest strengths.
“Sam is an experienced farmer who knows what he’s doing,” Caiphas says.
“Every time I visit him, I learn something myself. He has a clear focus on maize production, and was immediately willing to evaluate new genetics on his farm.
“We spend hours walking through the fields together discussing what works best under his conditions. That openness to learning and improving is what makes him such a valued farming partner.”
For more information, call Caiphas Muyambo on 063 387 4636.
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