daniel chigunwe
Precious Manomano
Herald Reporter
Agriculture experts have cautioned against planting with the present swathe of rains, warning that these are not heralding the rainy season.
However, farmers must take advantage of the wet conditions to speed up land preparations before the onset of the actual rainfall season.
The onset of the rainfall season is when an area receives an amount of 20 millimetres or more of rainfall in about three days and there is no dry spell for the next 10 days.
The country has been experiencing some rain since weekend with some areas receiving high rainfall. But the conditions are not expected to last.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri urged farmers not to plant with the burst of current rainfall. Instead farmers should speed up land preparations such as Pfumvudza holing and accelerating tillage for those practising conventional farming.
‘‘Many parts have received substantial rains this week. The Meteorological Services Department advises that this is not the start of the rainy season. Farmers are advised not to plant unless they have adequate irrigation. We expect the weather to clear soon so wheat farmers may expect a better assessment of the crop,’’ he said.
Prof Jiri also said that no wheat harvesting was advisable until the moisture content was in the acceptable range or unless farmers had access to drying facilities.
There were rains with strong winds coupled with thunder and lightning in some parts of the country from Friday this week.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Dr Shadreck Makombe indicated that it is good for farmers with irrigation to start planting, adding that staggered planting should be considered.
‘‘Stagger planting will help in the event that we get a longer dry spell. Its one size fits all. Farmers should also work with Agritex officers and get advice from the Meteorological department so that they get informed advice. This shows that This El Niino phase is not as bad as anticipated. We need to be careful because the season changes,’’ he said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers Union (ZNFU) president Mrs Monica Chinamasa said the current rains were beneficial to pastures that had deteriorated due to the dry conditions.
“The rains will improve pastures and help re-shoot. Animals will have water to drink and will no longer walk long distances to water. They were struggling a lot but we should make sure that we dose them because of the food which changes from dry grass to green grass,’’ she said.
She said those who are willing to plant with the current rains should ensure that they have irrigation. But farmers should wait until November where rainfall patterns are clearer.
She said rains will soften the ground so that those farmers who failed to carry out winter plough will be in a position to carry out a proper land preparation.
Maize requires 22 millimetres and above to germinate, for soya beans, 30mm and 35mm to be on the safe side. She said not much has fallen and the chances of experiencing long periods of a dry spell are quite high adding that the crop may germinate now but can be affected by the dry spell.
Online Reporter