tRecent changes in cultivar composition, the renewed drive to increase harvest age (HA), and the impactsof the Eldana borer (Eldana Saccharina Walker: Lepidoptera Pyralidae) in the rainfed regions of SouthAfrica have created uncertainty about the optimal HA of sugarcane. This study aimed to (i) review theoptimal HA of sugarcane in the coast and inland regions, (ii) determine the variability in optimal HAwith cultivar, and (iii) investigate the interactions between cultivar eldana resistance levels and HA onproductivity.