Speedlings sweeten seed cane propagation efficiency

Situated barely a stone’s throw from the waves of the warm Indian Ocean, Illovo Sugar’s Sezela Sugar Mill on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast crushes about two million tons of sugar cane annually for processing into sugar and other products.

The cane is supplied by growers at all scales of production within the mill’s supply area. As with all of South Africa’s sugar cane farmers, each Sezela mill supplier is paid on the recoverable value (RV) percentage of the cane he or she delivers to the mill.

Writing in the Shukela Plus industry magazine, Dr Muhammad Kadwa, industrial affairs manager of the South African Cane Growers’ Association (SA Canegrowers), explains that the RV payment system incentivises growers to maximise their crops’ sucrose content and minimise its non-sucrose and fibre content to produce better-quality cane.

A crucial aspect of the best management practices required by South Africa’s