CEREALS III 



Harvesting. Harvesting is usually done by hand in 

 South Africa owing to the abundance of cheap native 

 labour. Most of the crop is left to ripen and dry off on 

 the stalk; the ears are then pulled by hand, the husk 

 being" left on the stalk; or the ear and husk are taken off 

 together, the husk being removed with a combined busker 

 and sheller. The grain is then bagged for milling or 

 export, in bags of 203 Ib. gross, the standard weight 

 being a muid of 200 Ib. net. 



A few farmers have adopted the plan of cutting and 

 stocking the stalks before the ears are dry, and this 

 method will doubtless be increasingly practised, as it 

 results in a higher feeding value for the stover. 



Diseases. Broadly speaking, the South African maize 

 crop has comparatively few diseases and pests. The 

 principal diseases are: brown rust (Puccinia maydis, 

 Bereng), r^d rust (Puccinia purpurea, Cooke), maize smut 

 (Sorosporium Yeilianum (Kuhn), McAlp.), dry rot (Diplo- 

 dia zex (Schw.), Lev.), and leaf scorch (Helmintho- 

 sporium turciciim, Pas.). 



Weed Pes'ts. The most pernicious non-parasitic weed 

 pests with which w r e have to contend are : Bermuda 

 quick-grass (Cynodon dactylon) and uintjes (Cy perns 

 esculentus and C. rotundis). We have a parasitic weed 

 pest peculiar to South Africa: Striga lutea. Lour., called 

 witch weed, because it is supposed by the natives to 

 bewitch the maize fields. It is a troublesome and danger- 

 ous pest in the warmer parts of the country, and seriously 

 reduces yields. We are learning how to deal with it. 



Animal Pests. The Chacma baboon (Papio porcarius), 

 monkeys (Cerco pith ecus pygerythrus), the jumping hare 

 (Pedetes caffer), the reed rat (Thryonomys swinderen- 

 ianus), a small jumping rat (not identified), the porcupine 

 (Hystrix africx-australis), the African rook (Heterocorax 

 capensis), the blue crane (Anthropoides paradisea), and 

 the guinea fowl (Numidia coronata), all do some damage 

 to the crop and tend to reduce yields. 



Insect Pests. More damage is done by certain insect 

 pests; of these the most troublesome are: (i) The cut 

 worms, larvae of several species of Agrotis; (2) the stalk 

 borers, top grubs or tassel worms, larvae of Sesamia 



