Ministry of Agriculture has announced an outbreak of African armyworm which has attacked 412.6 hectares (ha) of maize crop in some parts of the country.
The ministry’s Department of Crop Development director Elida Kazira said in a written response yesterday that agricultural extension officers were still assessing the affected areas and monitoring the pest.
She said the ministry has to date received reports from Mzuzu Agricultural Development Division (ADD), especially in Rumphi and Mzimba North, that the African armyworm has attacked 39ha of maize.
In Blantyre ADD, which also covers Phalombe and Chiradzulu districts, the department has received a report that the pest has attacked 161.6 ha.
She said in Machinga ADD, Balaka and Machinga districts have reported infestation of about 191ha while Salima ADD has reported an attack on 21ha.
Kazira said the ministry is responding to the situation by distributing pesticides to all ADDs and districts, adding that they have teams in place to respond to any emergency.
“The outbreaks are being controlled by spraying the affected fields and bushes. We have installed pheromone traps to forecast the outbreaks of both African and fall armyworm so that the outbreaks are detected as early as possible,” she said.
An earlier statement from the ministry indicated that weather conditions characterised by a few rainy days followed by sunny days were a breeding environment for the pest.
It advised farmers to report any outbreaks to the nearest agriculture officer or government office to get assistance as soon as possible.
Mzimba North district crop protection officer Mwiza Munthali said while the pest were affected them a month ago, the area is less likely to be hard-hit due to steady rainfall experienced over the past four days.
African armyworm outbreak refers to the presence of large numbers of caterpillars that damage cereals and grasses.
“These caterpillars hatch from eggs laid by adult moths of the African armyworm. They are voracious feeders of cereal crops like maize, rice, sorghum, and millet, and if left uncontrolled, they can damage entire fields,” reads the text.
Meanwhile, hundreds of farmers from various traditional authorities (T/ As) in Mangochi are desperate after fall armyworms descended on their fields, extensively damaging their maize crop.
According to one of the affected farmers, Rose Amini from Chimbende Village, T/A Chowe in the district, all the maize in her garden has been attacked by the pests.
Mangochi district chief agriculture officer Oscar Kambombe has acknowledged the damage, saying about 1 300 ha have been affected by the fall armyworms.
