Online Reporter
Patience Maturure
Agriculture Reporter
THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has urged tobacco growers to destroy all living tobacco plants by May 15 and dispose of stalks to prevent pest and disease build-up while preserving soil nutrients.
In a statement yesterday, TIMB public affairs officer Mrs Chelesani Tsarwe emphasised that tobacco growers who had finished reaping were encouraged to destroy stalks by uprooting them, either by hand or during early land preparation using a plough.
“The last day for the destruction of all living tobacco plants is May 15 every year,” she said.
“Tobacco growers who have finished reaping are advised to destroy tobacco stalks by uprooting them.
“This can be done by hand pulling, especially now, while the ground is soft and moist from the rains.
“Stalks can also be pulled during early land preparation by going behind a plough.”
Mrs Tsarwe said after uprooting the stalks, farmers should gather, dry and burn them in a controlled manner, adhering to local regulations and safety guidelines.
“This method is recommended because it removes the entire stalk and roots, cutting off food sources for nematodes and other pests.
“Cutting or slashing tobacco stalks only encourages regrowth of shoots, which become breeding grounds for pests and diseases. This regrowth also drains soil nutrients, reducing productivity for your next crop,” she said.
Mrs Tsarwe added that preparing tobacco seed beds while there are tobacco stalks in one’s field or in a neighbour’s would be preparing to fail.
The Plant Pests and Diseases Act [Chapter 19:08] requires that all tobacco stalks be destroyed by May 15, of every year, not for the fun of it, but to help in reducing carryover of diseases and pests.
If farmers do not adhere to this Act, the result is not only that they will use more chemicals, which is an added expense, but the quality of tobacco may also be compromised to some extent, as a result of diseases and pests, which could have been dealt with simply by destroying stalks.
Tobacco farmers are presently delivering the crop to the floors, but as they do so, they are expected to destroy the living plants left in the fields.
TIMB urged farmers to report growers who would not have destroyed their tobacco stalks after the May 15 deadline to the Department of Research and Specialist Services, Plant Quarantine Services Institute, (PQSI), Agritex, Tobacco Research or TIMB.
