A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

THE

GRAIN AND OILSEED INDUSTRY

OF SOUTH AFRICA – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

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further amount of £934 to the same college to purchase further equipment to be

used for research into wheat.

The Wheat Board subsequently on several occasions made further donations to

the college of agriculture to appoint staff and purchase equipment required for

advanced research. Among other things, this equipment included ovens and ap-

paratus required to determine the ash content of bread and to provide an incubator

used in research on wheat diseases.

In time certain members of the Wheat Board became dissatisfied with the repeated

donations to the Elsenburg College of Agriculture while the universities, colleges

and research centres in the northern parts of the country also experienced the

same need. The matter was discussed by organised agriculture at provincial and

national level and the Wheat Board was requested to introduce a levy on wheat,

oats, barley and rye to generate funds for research. The Wheat Board supported

this and established the Winter Cereals Research Fund in 1952. From the 1953/1954

season a special levy was introduced on winter cereals, which was deducted from

the producer price. The levies that were collected with respect to the different

grains were employed specifically for research into each type of grain.

As wheat farming increased in the former Orange Free State and Transvaal, the

need for research and research facilities in those parts increased, and in 1953 the

Wheat Board made donations for this purpose to the Potchefstroom University

and the Small Grain Centre at Bethlehem. Later amounts were also donated to the

Roodeplaat research centre to construct a laboratory and other facilities. However,

this did not last long, as it was decided to concentrate all wheat research activities

in the northern regions at the Small Grain Centre at Bethlehem.

In addition to the above actions, the Wheat Board sponsored research at various

universities. The University of Pretoria, for example, conducted research on root

diseases and the causes of crater disease on the Springbokvlakte, while the Uni-

versity of Cape Town conducted research on viruses in wheat and their transfer-

ability, among other things by the Russian wheat aphid.

The University of the Free State was involved in research on the drought resistance

of wheat, combating wild oats and the biology and ecology of the Russian wheat

aphid. Research at the Stellenbosch University concentrated on wheat quality, bar-

ley, lupine development and fertiliser. At the University of the Witwatersrand the

effective absorption of inorganic nitrogen in the wheat plant during the growth and

development stages was researched.

The Small Grain Institute does extensive research on winter grains.