Armyworm devastates crops in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) – Agriculture officials in Zimbabwe said Tuesday
large swarms of armyworms had invaded farms in the main cropping northern
and eastern areas of the country, threatening to severely reduce crop
output.
They said the pests were mainly targeting the maize crop, the country’s
staple food.
Godfrey Chikwenhere, a director at the Plant Protection Institute, said the
armyworm was spreading, and feared vast areas in the two regions would be
destroyed by the pests, which were also targeting sorghum crops.
He said teams had been dispatched to the affected areas, but progress was
slow.
The pests were being sprayed, but it appeared the efforts were not enough to
control the outbreak.
Zimbabwe is often hit by outbreaks of armyworm which it fails to deal with
effectively because of lack of resources such as chemicals.
Chikwenhere said the government had enough chemicals this time, but lacked
manpower to spray the pests.
“Farmers should also participate in the control of armyworm. We have enough
chemicals, 4,000 kilogrammes of Carbaryl 85 wettable powder,” he said.
-0- PANA RS/SEG 4Jan2011
04 january 2011 12:10:47