Develop short-season seeds, scientists urged

Herald Reporter
Scientists have been challenged to come up with short-season drought-tolerant seeds that can withstand climatic changes which have resulted in long dry spells during the rainy season.

Addressing farmers at a field day held at Agricultural Research Trust (ART) Farm in Harare yesterday, Zimbabwe Agricultural Products (ZAP) managing director and agronomist Mr Ivan Craig said they were introducing short-season drought-tolerant breeds for regions that receive normal-to-below normal rainfall.

“Farmers should not continue realising poor harvests due to long dry spells being experienced in the country because researchers are coming up with new seed breeds that mitigate against climatic changes,” said Mr Craig.

He said short-season maize breeds like ZAP 43 and ZAP 61 can withstand long dry spells which are characterised by high temperatures.