Farmers urged to use right control measure to fight Army worm

Farmers in Kakamega county who are currently battling an army worm invasion have been advised to embrace the right control measures in order to win the war against the destructive pests.
Kakamega county director of Agriculture Johnstone Imbira told the farmers that carrying out the right pest control measures was critical to the success in the fight against the pests.
This he said includes spraying at night.
Imbira noted that night spraying would be an effective mode of pest control, noting that army worms hide in the soil during the day when they realize that they are being fought.
He said if spraying has been done during the day, it should be repeated at night for it to be effective.
He named four of some of the pesticides that are effective, including Bestox, Duluthrine, Themoraro and Belt SC 480.
He however conceded that the sustainable solution to the army worm menace is biological control and called on stakeholders to help conduct a research to establish why the pests were invading farms and destroying crops in most parts of the country.
“Besides, maize plants, the worm feeds on nappier grass and other green leaves; thereby making virtually all plants vulnerable to attack by the worm,” Imbira said.
Speaking to KNA during an interview, Imbira said despite the army worm challenge, Kakamega County is expecting a bumper harvest of maize.
He said it is estimated that 3 million bags of maize will be harvested, up from 2.8 million bags in 2017, which superseded its target of 2 million.
The county crops officer Titus Omengo consented that there was enough maize for the county residents, noting that the adequacy had led to low prices for dry maize.
The cereal currently costs Sh. 2,000, having dipped from Sh. 3,000 in December and January.
Omengo said the rains have been reliable, adding that the county government’s contribution in subsidizing maize seed and fertilizers motivated more farmers to plant the crop, while others increased the acreage.
By Bantaleo Muhindi