Meteorological Services Department warns of prolonged dry spell

A PROLONGED dry spell is expected to hit the country from today until early next month, which would allow farmers to apply fertiliser and pesticides to their crops, weather experts have said.

Rains have been pounding most parts of the country in the last couple of days resulting in farmers in areas like Tsholotsho abandoning planting due to water-logged fields.

On Monday Tsholotsho received the highest amount of rainfall in the country at 85mm followed by Kezi, which received 67mm and Plumtree 35mm while Nkayi had the least at 20mm.

In a statement, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) said there will be a prolonged dry spell from today until February 2.

“On Thursday, January 18 (yesterday), there will be localised heavy rains and thunderstorms coupled with windy and mild conditions. On Friday (today) January 19, the south-easterly winds should further strengthen and drive moisture northwards,” said the agency.

“This will start to gradually decrease rainfall across the country starting with the southern parts. This push of moisture northwards should result in mostly sunny and hot conditions from Sunday, 21 January 2024 with periodic interludes of cooling winds from the southeast,” it said.

The Met Department advised farmers to harvest as much water as possible while for those crops that do not require a lot of rain, farmers must take advantage of the dry spell to apply pesticides and fertiliser with proper guidance from agriculture experts.

Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services director for Matabeleland North province, Mr Dumisani Nyoni, said the dry spell was a welcome development as prolonged rains stifle the growth of crops.

“It is necessary that we have one or two weeks of sunshine so that water can seep further down, too much water reduces the growth rate of our crops because the sun is another critical element needed,” he said.

“The dry period gives our farmers to do a lot of work on their fields, such as weeding, or further planting. We hope this dry spell won’t prolong to an extent that the soil becomes completely dry again.

“Farmers are encouraged to daily check their fields for pests particularly the African armyworm and wild animals,” said Mr Nyoni.

Erratic and low rainfall patterns have already been predicted this year because of El Nino conditions, which are expected to affect Southern Africa as a result of climate change.

Zimbabwe expects to receive normal to below-normal rainfall with parts of the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces getting below-normal rains for the beginning of the 2023/24 planting season.