adminNengare made the call, at an agriculture show at Rest camp, Ward 26 in Madziva.
Mr Nengare said herbicides were more efficient and could be cheaper considering that farmers would only apply once.
“For mechanical weeding, farmers will have to hire labour, pay in cash and kind and sometimes the labour is not thorough. The farmer will be forced to repeat the operation many times,” he said.
Many farmers have always been complaining of labour shortages and this has an effect on yields as they may end up failing to weed their fields thoroughly.
Mr Nengare said weeds competed with crops for nutrients and sunlight and might also transfer pests and diseases to crops.
A number of farmers, however, said they did not have adequate knowledge on the use of the chemicals.
Madziva farmer, Mrs Esnath Chikorose said she had never considered using chemicals for weed control, as she did not have enough knowledge about herbicides.
“Some farmers have tried using chemicals and the result was discouraging. Some have burnt their crops due to incorrect application and we have resorted to use the traditional way of hand weeding,” she said.
Mr Nengare encouraged farmers to always work with their Agritex officers for advice on the period to use chemicals and the type of herbicides and to be applied and the appropriate method of application.
“Some farmers have applied wrong chemicals due to limited knowledge while others do not know how to dilute the chemicals,” he said.
Mr Nengare advised farmers to plan ahead of the season to maximise production.
Online Reporter