Ruth Rhodes (Extension Specialist, Zululand South) and Jan Erasmus (Extension Specialist, Malelane)

18th May 2026

All mills will (hopefully!) be up and running at full capacity soon. Apart from being harvesting season, these late autumn/early winter months are a good time for soil sampling and other preparations for your spring replant programme.

Top tips for May and June

  • Remember to take soil samples from your harvested fields, and to sample all replant fields to depth.
  • Plan to begin your land preparation soon for spring plantings.
  • Pay attention to topping height and base cutting. Don’t waste high-sucrose tons by leaving them in the field: every 10 cm of stubble left in the field represents 5 tons of cane that didn’t make it to the mill.

Pests and Diseases

  • Autumn and spring are the seasons for brown and tawny rust. Fields planted to susceptible varieties may require spraying.
  • Remember that RSD-infected commercial fields, once eradicated, should be fallowed for at least 3 months after the last volunteer has been removed.
  • Ensure that cane knives and files are disinfected regularly during harvest to limit the spread of RSD, particularly before entering and leaving fields.

Soil Sampling

  • Take soil samples as soon as possible from fields that have been harvested.
  • All replant fields should routinely be sampled to depth. In the dryland areas, sample at 20 cm intervals to a depth of 60 or 80 cm, to check for subsoil acidity; in the irrigated areas, samples can be taken at 30 cm intervals, to 90 cm, to check for salinity and sodicity. See the soil sampling articles in this edition of the Link.
  • In cases where lime needs to be applied, timeous collection of soil samples will allow lime to be ordered and applied in time for replanting.

Preparation of replant fields

  • Replant fields should be planned for a strip replant programme, i.e. do not plan to replant whole hillsides.
  • Ploughing with a shallow mouldboard plough with depth control should start in May. This is generally a good time to commence mechanical stool eradication operations. Only slopes up to 10% slope should be ploughed.
  • If you are planning to use a winter green manure crop, seed should be planted by the end of May. Any volunteer regrowth can then be dug out and removed from the field.
  • In some areas, orders for 2027 seedcane requirements will happen soon. Plan your replanting schedule well in advance to be prepared.

General

  • The next Senior and Junior Certificate Courses in Sugarcane Agriculture start in June and October, respectively. Contact SASRI for the SCC or the Shukela Training Centre for the JCC to enquire about booking your spot.
  • The dry winter months are a good time to see to road, waterway, drain and contour maintenance.
  • The dry season is beginning. Check all your firebreaks to ensure that they are adequate and safe.
  • The annual SASTA Congress takes place at the ICC from 18-20 August 2026. This year marks the 100th anniversary of SASTA and promises to be an exceptional event. Register now at South African Sugar Technologists’ Association.

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