While news of finding fall armyworm in Ncera caused panic in the rural area, MEC for rural development and agrarian reform Mlibo Qoboshiyane yesterday assured farmers the situation was under control.
“Farmers should however be aware and knowledgeable about the insect,” he said.
Qoboshiyane confirmed that the fall armyworm had been found on a farm in Ncera following tests conducted on samples collected from maize fields and sent to the Stellenbosch University laboratory for analysis.
He said the worm not only destroys the leaves but also the stem of the plant.
“They can use their cellphones to take pictures if they see something suspicious and send it to our team for analysis. Extension officers, scientists and technicians are always on standby,” said Qoboshiyane.
Fall armyworm larvae feed on young maize plants damaging young leaves, as well as the growing point. In older maize plants, the larvae feed on soft tissue like kernels, soft inner leaves and silk hairs.
Visiting the infected farm yesterday, where spraying had been halted due to strong winds, Qoboshiyane said: “We decided to pull together our provincial command team to come and spray the whole farm so we could quarantine the situation on the farm. We want to make sure it doesn’t contaminate other farms.”
He said it was the only farm that was positively identified in the area but last year, 355ha of land from various areas in Centane was affected.
“We managed to deal with that situation. In this cropping season, this is the first area to be identified. Our capacity is well up to scratch in terms of dealing with the situation.”
Qoboshiyane said half-a-million rand had been set aside to deal with the situation head-on.
“We have enough stock of chemicals to prevent this from spreading.”
But he warned that it would be difficult to completely wipe out the worm.
“When it has fully developed, it can fly to other areas as well.”
Local farmer Jimmy Makele said he was worried that the harvesting season might not benefit them as a lot of the crops may be damaged.
He said some farmers like himself depend on those crops to feed their families. “Most of us are unemployed, and rely on selling the maize to feed our families. I hope we will never experience this kind of problem again.” — zikhonam@dispatch.co.za
Fears allayed over armyworm
“Farmers should however be aware and knowledgeable about the insect,” he said.
Qoboshiyane confirmed that the fall armyworm had been found on a farm in Ncera following tests conducted on samples collected from maize fields and sent to the Stellenbosch University laboratory for analysis.
He said the worm not only destroys the leaves but also the stem of the plant.
“They can use their cellphones to take pictures if they see something suspicious and send it to our team for analysis. Extension officers, scientists and technicians are always on standby,” said Qoboshiyane.
Fall armyworm larvae feed on young maize plants damaging young leaves, as well as the growing point. In older maize plants, the larvae feed on soft tissue like kernels, soft inner leaves and silk hairs.
Visiting the infected farm yesterday, where spraying had been halted due to strong winds, Qoboshiyane said: “We decided to pull together our provincial command team to come and spray the whole farm so we could quarantine the situation on the farm. We want to make sure it doesn’t contaminate other farms.”
He said it was the only farm that was positively identified in the area but last year, 355ha of land from various areas in Centane was affected.
“We managed to deal with that situation. In this cropping season, this is the first area to be identified. Our capacity is well up to scratch in terms of dealing with the situation.”
Qoboshiyane said half-a-million rand had been set aside to deal with the situation head-on.
“We have enough stock of chemicals to prevent this from spreading.”
But he warned that it would be difficult to completely wipe out the worm.
“When it has fully developed, it can fly to other areas as well.”
Local farmer Jimmy Makele said he was worried that the harvesting season might not benefit them as a lot of the crops may be damaged.
He said some farmers like himself depend on those crops to feed their families. “Most of us are unemployed, and rely on selling the maize to feed our families. I hope we will never experience this kind of problem again.” — zikhonam@dispatch.co.za
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