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FARMERS in the Nyatate area of Nyanga district are having sleepless nights over the destruction of their maize crop by the larger grain borer.
The villagers in the area are already anticipating poor harvest. The larger grain borer is resisting the usual pesticides like Copper Shumba and Chirindamatura dust leaving the villagers clueless on how to protect their crop.
“I have tried to apply some pesticides but the larger grain borers are not dying. At one point I even put thrice the usual Chirindamatura measurement but to no avail.
“I even tried some traditional ways of burning chikohwa and mix the ashes with the maize, but it did not work,” said a villager from Marume.
“I was surprised to see that I have lost a considerable amount of maize. I first suspected that there were some grain borers in my granary when I saw some maize dust heaped near the sacks containing the grain, ” said another villager from Chimonyo village.
Cases of larger grain borers were also recorded in Ruwangwe area sometime last year and there seems to be no pesticide to control the pest.
Some Agritex officers who declined to be named said it could be better to destroy all the infested maize so that we stop breeding the larger grain borer.
However, some villagers have resorted to using phostoxin tablets, which are highly toxic to humans, domestic animals, birds, fish and wildlife.
Online Reporter