Oilseeds Focus
Read the March 2026 issue of Oilseeds Focus
In the March 2026 issue of Oilseeds Focus, we look at the forces reshaping South Africa’s oilseed landscape, including climate pressure and crop performance and disease risk and scientific collaboration. The issue unpacks the ongoing threat of Sclerotinia head rot in sunflower, reports back on the 2026 Combined Congress, and highlights new research providing empirical evidence of how rainfall amount and timing, temperature regimes, heat stress, and cultivar characteristics interact to shape canola yield outcomes.
Also in this issue:
- Cultivating climate-smart oilseed systems.
- Climate drivers of canola yield in the Swartland.
- The global drone revolution in agriculture.
- Canola cultivar choice 2026: What and where?
- Plant breeders’ rights and producers.
- Promising new-generation soya bean cultivars.
- International benchmarking of fertiliser uses.
- Herbicide-resistant weeds associated with glyphosate.
- South African oilseed nutrient use efficiency.
- Oilseeds market 2026: A five-item watchlist.
- New plant breeding techniques for food system resilience.
- King IV vs King V: What is new?
- And much more!
The March 2026 issue of Oilseeds Focus can be downloaded as an interactive flipbook at https://digimags.agriorbit.com/books/Oilseeds-Focus-March-2026/ or download the PDF version here. To subscribe, phone Beauty Mthombeni on 064 890 6941 or SMS ‘Subscribe’ and your phone number to 064 890 6941 and we will get back to you.
Read previous issues
Read articles from Oilseeds Focus
Oilseeds Focus March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Oilseeds Focus brings together key insights shaping the future of South Africa’s oilseed sector. From cultivating climate-smart systems for...
Oilseeds Focus December 2025Â
The December issue of Oilseeds Focus explores South Africa’s fertiliser use, smart cultivar choices for profitable sunflower production, and the rising challenge of herbicide resistance – plus emerging solutions that...
Enhancing sunflower head rot assessments with a purpose-built visual tool
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Sunflower head rot (SHR), caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, reduces yield and seed quality. In South Africa, SHR affects key sunflower...
Small changes, big rewards in modern sunflower production
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Sunflower is one of the major row crops cultivated in South Africa.
Modern sunflower production requires a good balance of...
Taxonomy and life cycles matter when managing Sclerotinia sclerotiorum diseases
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Diagnosing soya bean stem rot and sunflower head rot, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is relatively simple due to characteristic...
Efficiency of soya bean meal replacement by rapeseed meal and/or canola...
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Researchers have been invested in finding solutions for poultry feeding which support high layer performance at lower feeding costs....
Why and how do we dry grain?
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
When grain is harvested it is in the best condition it will ever be. From harvesting onwards, it can only...
Effect of seed-applied technologies on groundnut production
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Seed-applied technologies represent a revolution in farming.
Rhizobium inoculants are used on legumes such as groundnuts and soya beans for...
Impact of harmful Palmer amaranth on maize, cotton, soya bean and...
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Since Palmer amaranth was first discovered in the Douglas district in the Northern Cape early in 2018, the SAHRI...
Determining animal feed demand in the grain and oilseeds markets
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
One of the major role-players within the demand spectrum of the grain and oilseeds markets, is the animal feed industry.
The...
Maintaining water quality for agricultural use
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
South Africa is considered a water-scarce country. The ever-increasing demand for water, combined with dry and unfavourable climate conditions, exert...
Processing full-fat soya beans for animal consumption
Soya beans, with their high protein (38 to 42%) and rich oil (18 to 22%) content, have the potential to substantially benefit the feed...
Fall armyworm: How a climate model can help
The
fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), which originates from South
America, is an invasive alien insect known for causing devastation in many a
cropland. This tropical or subtropical...
Market segmentation of edible vegetable oils
There are many types of vegetable oils suitable for human consumption. These oils are usually called edible oils and can be divided into two...
Application of CRISPR technology in agriculture
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
The new gene editing technology known as CRISPR (pronounced ‘crisper’ and short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) has...
Factors influencing seed set and grain fill in sunflower
Poor seed set and
grain fill are two components in sunflower cultivation that can be problematic
from time to time. This article focuses briefly on a...
