Columbus Mabika Herald Reporter
Farmers have been urged to embrace modern herbicides to reduce the costs of production.

Unveiling a new herbicide called “Lumax” during the Chinhoyi Agricultural Expo, Syngenta sales and operations manager Mr Moses Kudanga said the use of herbicides reduced labour costs.

“If properly used, herbicides tend to be more effective and less time-consuming as opposed to removing weeds using hoes or uprooting them by hand,” he said.

“Herbicides provide an inexpensive way of controlling weeds, and are a viable option for both plantation owners and smallholder farmers.”

Mr Kudanga said the physical removal of weeds was time-consuming and often resulted in the weeds feeding on the soil nutrients that should be used by the crops thus reducing yields.

“Use of herbicides is less laborious and more convenient,” he said.

Mr Kudanga said Lumax was a “3 in 1” herbicide, which is used as both pre-emergence and early post-emergence control of broadleaved weeds and grasses in maize.

He said this herbicide gives season-long protection, thereby facilitating undisturbed growth of maize crop.

“The farmer does not have to till the land every time the weeds grow and therefore the soil structure is better preserved,” he said.

Mr Kudanga encouraged farmers to make use of mechanised implements to boost agricultural production.

“Agricultural mechanisation can be used to increase marginal output in food production, as well as eradicate poverty,” he said.

Field promoter Mr Trust Murungu also emphasised that the training of farmers was important, as they required constant guidance and education in the application of herbicides.

Experts say herbicides are important for soil conservation as frequent use of the hoe to till the land exposes it to erosion by wind and running water.

However, they have some adverse effects on the environment, which include the build-up of herbicide-resistant biotypes where the same herbicide has been used repeatedly for a number of years.

Mr Murungu said an integrated approach where a range of chemical, physical and other methods are used could be effective.

“Within this approach, it is necessary to rotate approved herbicides and to supplement these with non-chemical methods,” he said.