The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Farming Reporter
AN outbreak of a dangerous leaf mining moth, Tuta absoluta in various parts of the country is threatening tomato production.
Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (Agritex) Matabeleland North provincial officer Mr Dumisani Nyoni confirmed that there was an outbreak of Tuta absoluta countrywide and that it has affected most horticultural producers’ tomato crop in his area of jurisdiction.
“The outbreak of Tuta absoluta is generally throughout the country and we also have farmers that have cropped tomatoes in the province also being affected.
“We therefore urge farmers to be on the look out through scouting for the presence of the pest at least three times a day to see if their crop is healthy, randomly check the leafs, stem and the fruit,” said Mr Nyoni.
He said farmers should also selectively dissect (cut apart) some of their tomato fruits to check for the presence of the pest.
Tuta absoluta is a very harmful leaf mining moth (also known as tomato leafminer) with a strong preference for tomatoes. It also occurs on eggplants, sweet peppers as well as potatoes and various other cultivated plants. It also occurs on weeds of Solanaceae family (Solanum nigrum, Datura spp.).
Tuta absoluta can cause 50 to 100 percent yield reduction on tomato crops and its presence may also limit the export of the product to several destinations. Prevention and proper management of the pest are crucial.
Chemical control often fails due to the resistance of Tuta absoluta against many pesticides, but also because a big part of its development takes place inside the plant or the soil, out of reach of pesticides.
“In the event of the presence of Tuta absoluta, farmers should use ampligo or various other pesticides available from agro-dealers to get rid of the pest,” Mr Nyoni said.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, Midlands Agritex provincial officer Mr Peter Chamisa also confirmed the outbreak of Tuta absoluta in the province.
“We received a report of an outbreak of the pest at Ngodoma irrigation scheme and officials from the Plant Protection Research Unit came and took samples for positive identification.
We are expecting them back soon as I speak they are in Matabeleland region in a fact finding mission about this pest. I can’t say much about it because it’s a relatively new infestation,” said Mr Chamisa.
However, Matabeleland South provincial Agritex officer Mr Judia Ncube said the outbreak was still to be reported in his area of jurisdiction.
“We haven’t received any report of Tuta absoluta outbreak in the province yet,” said Mr Ncube.
@DNsingo
