The monitoring period coincides with the sowing of winter wheat in and around the western Cape, in addition to covering the end of the maize harvest throughout the country. Maize, extensively cultivated in the country’s northwest and in Mpumalanga, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal, is the most significant harvest for South Africa. Compared with average, RAIN was low (-25%), while RADPAR accumulation dropped by a smaller percentage (-2%); temperature was significantly above average at + 3.1°C. The fraction of cropped arable land (CALF) increased (+2 percentage points) while the biomass production potential decreased (BIOMSS, -10%). The national NDVI development graph indicates that the crop condition was unfavorable in early April, but later gradually improved and peaked in late July, reaching values comparable to the average of the last five years. The lowest maximum VCI values (<0.5) occur in the central northern areas, especially in the Free State. According to the NDVI profiles, most areas display average (that is, seasonally dry conditions) at the end of the monitoring period.

Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Maximum VCI

Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA

NDVI profiles