Every time when we think the ultimate maize cultivar has been bred, a seed company launches a new, improved cultivar, enabling the farmer to continue with sustainable production. K2 Seed employs the best scientific breeding techniques available, and one of their breeding aims is to decrease the growing season of the maize plant.

“The cultivars displayed here at Agritech have already been available for three to four years, but we are very excited about our early maturing programme. Our current focus is on a series three and four cultivar. Zambia is already well supplied with the longer grower series like five, six, seven and the irrigation cultivars. What we have been lacking here, are the extra early maturing varieties,” Kevin Kleemann Wright, Country Director, Klein Karoo Seed Zambia, says.

In years when farmers have trouble with flooding or drought or an outbreak of pests such as fall army worm, the risks can be mitigated by a shorter maturing time. “What we’ve been working on is a cultivar that should mature in 96 to 100 days, which means that if we have a maize crisis in the country, we can plant a short grower in January which will be ready for harvest in April, Kevin says.

“Yes, the yields might be lower, but the farmers will gain a crop, and that is what our breeding programme is concentrating on.”

National agricultural development in Zambia is crucial and this new maize cultivar will be an excellent addition for farmers who are already drowning under expensive inputs, controlled grain prices and risks lurking around every corner.

K2 Seed Zambia can kit out your game plan for the next maize planting season. Contact Kevin Kleemann Wright at +26 (0)97-776-2111 or +26 (0)21-184-0965 or e-mail kevin@seedmarketing.co.za

Members of K2 Seed Zambia are very proud of their products and neat packaging material.

Kevin Kleemann Wright shows off the KKS EXP 3/96, an extra early maturing cultivar for reducing risks with its drastically shorter growing time.

Jack Kalenga, Area Team Leader:
Central Province, distributed literature on K2 Seed Zambia’s wide variety of seed cultivars from vegetables to grain and grazing crops.

K2 Seed Zambia’s wide variety of crops are standing lively and proud in the demonstration plots.