Farai Munyanyi
THE farming community has enough to worry about with the drought looming in the region. According to the United Nations panel on climate change, it is estimated that crop yields in Southern Africa will decline by about 30 to 50 percent by mid-century due to climate change-induced rain. Naturally, under such circumstances any farmer would like to get the most out of their pieces of land during this window period but currently weeds are creating havoc in farmers’ lives as they interfere with anticipated yields in various communities.  

“Without weeding do not expect any harvest. The back has to ache to conquer the weeds!” Women’s groups active in farming are said to be lamenting the pain of having to deal with the strenuous task of protecting their crops against weeds. Having to bend down and work carefully not to damage the crop – the women’s task is energy and time consuming and one that needs to be undertaken before the weeds outgrow the crops. In short, the poor management of weeds and pests compromise yield volumes and threaten food security.

The use of herbicides such as “Auxo” can effectively help to intervene against pervasive weeds. Developed by Bayer’s Crop Science Division, Auxo is a post-emergence herbicide, which was registered and launched in Zimbabwe in 2016 following three seasons of evaluation for suitability by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS).

If one considers that around 1,6 million hectares of Zimbabwean land is put under maize every year and that maize is by far the most important food crop given that it is the staple for the vast majority of Zimbabweans,  it would be a serious risk not to guard against weeds, to say the least. Broadleaf and grass weed killer Auxo is best suited to fight weeds in maize farms. It facilitates the rapid (within 5 to 7days) destruction of weeds after treatment, thus eliminating any competition with the maize.  Good synergistic working between the two different modes of action in Auxo, ensures consistent effectiveness in weed control, and is supported by the built-in safener technology.

Auxo can play an integral part in optimising farmers’ integrated resistance management system as it supports a flexible crop rotation practice, based on its safety on broad-leaved crops leaving many more options to growers to rotate with for instance, soy beans and tobacco following their maize planting. The best results can be obtained by treating weeds as early as possible.

A herbicide such as Auxo can save farmers a lot of time and the hassle of hoeing or manual removal of weeds. The correct use of herbicides means that farmers will have cleaner fields and good harvest, not to mention more time to invest in making their farms more efficient.

 Farai Munyanyi is Bayer’s business manager, Zimbabwe.