Fall armyworms have invaded 652 hectares of maize fields in Kitwe District on the Copperbelt affecting all the 16 farming camps in the district.
Kitwe District Senior Agriculture Officer Brighton Makumba who confirmed the development to ZANIS disclosed that the average infestation rate stands at 43 percent.
Mr. Makumba has since appealed to farmers in the district to use traditional means of managing the armyworms to prevent extensive damage to the crops.
He also said that the Ministry of Agriculture is discouraging the use of synthetic pesticides to control the pests for fear of pests developing resistance and to also prevent causing damages to the environment.
Mr. Makumba said the Ministry has since embarked on farmer sensitization and training on Integrated Fall armyworms management in all the 16 camps.
“In Kitwe all the 16 agricultural camps have reported infestations of the crop by fall armyworms and at the moment the Ministry is encouraging farmers to use the Integrated Pest Management System (IMS) which is a holistic kind of approach to manage the pest,” he said.
Mr. Makumba explained that the IMS is a method that involves the use of cultural methods like use of resistant crop varieties, crop rotations, weed management and use of natural enemies and botanical- in combinations.
He stated that the affected households were 357 out of a total number of 23,450 agricultural households.
Mr Makumba called for intensified pest management efforts to curb the rate at which the infestation is spreading to prevent it from worsening from the current 43 percent.
He however said the crop in the district is generally faring well with the improvement in the rainfall.
