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Precious Manomano
TOBACCO farmers need to secure the right chemicals and apply them correctly, as they roll out their pest and disease control programmes to mitigate the adverse effects of the two evils on plant physiology and growth.
The call comes on the backdrop of an incident in which nearly 400 hectares of irrigated tobacco were severely damaged countrywide after farmers used fake chemicals on the crop last month.
Liaison pesticide approval and plant health services officers have since been deployed to assess the damage caused by the use of the said chemicals.
On the one hand, Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary general Mr Paul Zakariya has called on law enforcement authorities to deal with the fake chemicals menace saying it was destroying the bedrock of the country’s agriculture.
“It is painful for farmers, as they would have invested their faith in the efficacy of the chemicals thinking they are real and would have planted the best yielding varieties and applied the best fertilisers. Their hopes will be dashed when they realise that the crops will not be growing well. The farmers will obviously contend with fresh costs if they choose to replace the failed crop by replanting. The farmer would also have lost yields, as they naturally decrease as the season progresses,” said Mr Zakariya.
Meanwhile, Tobacco Farmers’ Union Trust president Mr Victor Mariranyika has also emphasised the need for farmers to mix chemicals properly and adopt good agronomic practices to ensure they achieve the desired results.
Mr Mariranyika urged farmers to seek the requisite knowledge from extension officers and other relevant unions in order to secure good yields. On average, one hectare produces at least four tonnes of tobacco if farmers employ the recommended agronomic practices.
“Chemicals are the only effective way to control pests and diseases that may affect the growth of tobacco. Those with green triangles are the only ones recommended for tobacco now while those with purple triangles are no longer recommended,” he said.
Mr Mariranyika further warned farmers against buying chemicals from the streets saying only reputable sources were safe, as they sold genuine products.
In its advisory notice recently, the Tobacco Research Board (TRB) disclosed that there were several incidences of abnormally growing plants that had been observed on some farms under irrigated tobacco.
TRB advised that the symptoms and the observed distribution in the field were consistent with abiotic disorders (non-infective) most likely chemical phytotoxicity from some synthetic plant protection product.
TRB revealed that phytotoxicity cases can be caused by an incorrect dose application, an incorrect method of application and change in the formulation or source of the agrochemical. It can also stem from some contamination of a batch of an agrochemical. As a precautionary measure the TRB is urging affected growers not to apply any chemical remedies, as the problem is not a disease but an environmental disorder.
Online Reporter