Andrew
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Sunday Mail Correspondent
MIDLANDS is leading in maize production this season with more than 391 000 hectares having been planted in the province, the First Round Crop and Livestock Assessment report has revealed.
Overall, the area put under maize dropped by one percent from 1 920 541 ha the previous season to the current 1 903 669 ha.
A final crop assessment report is expected at the end of next month.
The first round report — conducted from January to mid-February — shows that 235 544 ha were put under maize in Manicaland, 214 623 ha in Mashonaland Central, 219 321 ha in Mashonaland East, 324 159 ha in Mashonaland West, 232 920 ha in Masvingo, 132 361 ha in Matabeleland North, 152 795 ha in Matabeleland South and 391 945 ha in Midlands.
Maize planted under the climate-proofed Presidential Input Scheme commonly known as Pfumvudza/Intwasa covers 342 860 ha, representing 18 percent of the total planted area.
The report states that 31 percent of the maize crop was planted in November, 54 percent in December and 15 percent in January.
“Generally, inputs were distributed a bit late under all the major input support schemes, which also resulted in late planting even in some of the areas where the rainfall came early. The earliest planted maize crop is now at the late reproductive or maturity stage and is in good condition. However, the crop planted end of November to early December was poorly established because of a dry spell that followed planting.”
The report stated that the crop condition was poor to fair due to dry spells and incessant rains.
“The late-planted crop is mostly also ranging from fair to poor because of nitrogen deficiency that was caused by leaching, especially in the sandy soils due to incessant rains that have been experienced across the country in January. “The crop was also affected by lack of top-dressing fertiliser which was scarce in the Government input programmes as well as on the local market during the critical stages of the crop.”
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (Agritex) director Mr Stancilae Tapererwa said the current state of the maize crop is much better in the northern parts of the country than in the southern parts.
He also said Agritex is embarking on a second crop assessment starting this week.
“The report will be made available on April 29 at the end of the rainy season,” he said.
Meteorological Services Department (MSD) meteorologist Mr James Ngoma said last week’s wet spell experienced in different parts of the country was an indication that the rainy season is coming to an end.
“We are expecting the weekend to be mostly sunny and warm. However, brief cloudy periods and isolated showers remain probable. This coming week should be mostly sunny and hot …”
Online Reporter