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Desember 2017
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Sunflower crop quality overview
of the 2015/2016 production season
T
he deep root system of a sunflower
enables the plant to perform bet-
ter than other crops during dry
seasons, making sunflower seed
production very suitable for South African
climatic conditions. As a result, sunflower
seed production for the 2015/2016 produc-
tion season exceeded soybean production
for the first time since the 2010/2011 season.
2015/2016 season’s final commercial sun-
flower crop figure is 755 000 tons. This fig-
ure represents an increase of almost 14%
(92 000 tons) compared to the 2014/2015
season. The major sunflower-producing
provinces, namely the Free State and
North West Province, contributed 92% of
the total crop (
Graph 1
).
The area utilised for sunflower production
increased by almost 25%, from 576 000 ha
in the previous season, to 718 500 ha this
season. Due to the drought conditions, pro-
duction only increased by 14% as the yield
decreased from 1,15 t/ha to 1,05 t/ha.
World sunflower seed production for the
2015/2016 season stands at 42 465 million
tons with the Ukraine and Russia contribut-
ing 51% to this total. The forecast for the
2016/2017 season was 47 397 million tons,
according to figures published in the 2016
US Sunflower Crop Quality Report, compil-
ed by the National Sunflower Association.
According to The Bureau for Food and
Agricultural Policy (BFAP) Baseline, Agricul-
tural Outlook 2016 to 2025, sunflower area is
expected to decline in 2017 to around 2015
levels, assuming normal rainfall patterns,
before stabilising at around 560 000 ha by
2025. An average production increase of
1,4% per year is expected to result in a pro-
duction of 820 000 tons by 2025, driven by
average annual improvements in yield of
close to 3% also by 2025.
During the 2016 harvesting season, a rep-
resentative sample of each delivery of
sunflower at the various silos was taken ac-
cording to the prescribed grading regula-
tions. 176 composite sunflower samples,
representing the different production re-
gions, were analysed for quality and the
results published in the fourth annual sun-
flower crop quality survey report.
Summary of the quality
results
78% (138) of the 176 samples analysed
for the purpose of this survey was graded
as Grade FH1 and 38 of the samples were
downgraded to class other sunflower seed
(COSF). The percentage of FH1 samples
showed a decrease compared to the 86%
and 82% of the 2014/2015 and 2013/2014
seasons respectively. This decreasing trend
could not be attributed to any single grading
deviation.
The majority of samples was downgraded
as a result of the percentage of either the
screenings or foreign matter or the collec-
tive deviations or a combination of these
exceeding the maximum permissible devia-
tions of 4%, 4% and 6% respectively. The
presence of poisonous seeds (
Datura
sp.)
exceeding the maximum permissible num-
ber, namely 1 per 1 000 g, was also a con-
tributing factor.
Gauteng, represented by two samples, re-
ported the highest weighted average per-
centage screenings namely 3,6%, followed
by North West Province (N = 80) and the
Free State (N = 80) with 2,8% and 2,01%
respectively.
RELEVANT
JOLANDA NORTJÉ,
manager laboratory, The Southern African Grain Laboratory NPC
Graph 1: Provincial contribution to the production of the 2015/2016 sunflower crop.
Graph 2: Comparison of the test weight per province over four seasons.