By Maurice Alal
Johnstone Onyango was used to buying maize from Uganda due to the low production in his three-acre piece of land.
The 35-year-old maize farmer in Lwanya location, Matayos sub county, Busia county, says he could only get 20 tins of maize after toiling hard only for his crops to be infested by the striga weed.
Onyango, a member of Imbako group, says the situation has however changed, thanks to the StrigaAway maize control technology.
“I never knew that my production would improve tremendously until I adopted Imazapyr Resistan (IR) maize seeds. I now harvest more than 18 bags of maize. I am now food secure since I don’t have to buy maize to feed my family anymore,” he said, adding that so far more than 300 farmers have embraced IR maize seed in the area.
The Africa Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has introduced the StrigaAway IR maize technology to help farmers manage the striga weed, which attacks cereal crops, retarding plant growth, resulting in stunted and withered plants.
This comes at a time when scientists have warned of an imminent spread of the weed to other parts of the country where it never used to thrive due to climatic changes.
The researchers at AATF have warned that the weed, which has been causing havoc in Nyanza and Western regions, is likely to spread to other parts of the country like Rift Valley due to increasing temperatures.
According to AATF, striga weed constrains the productivity of staples such as maize, sorghum, millet and upland rice in Sub-Saharan Africa, affecting livelihoods of more than 100 million people.
Grace Wachoro, AATF communications officer, said the weed thrives on water and nutrients siphoned from the crops for its own growth. “It causes serious damage to its host crop before emerging from the soil by producing phytotoxins which are harmful the host crop. Striga infests as much as 40 million hectares of smallholder farms, causing yield losses ranging from 20 to 80 per cent and total crop failure in severe infestation,” Wachoro said.
She said they are partnering with four seeds companies in East Africa to commercially avail the technology to farmers to fight the striga and boost maize production.
Wachoro explained that the Imazapyr acts before or at the time of striga attachment to the maize root and prevents the phytotoxic effects of the weed on the maize plant, thus enabling the plant to grow to its full potential.
“Imazapyr that is not absorbed by the maize seedlings diffuses into the surrounding soil and kills ungerminated striga seeds in its vicinity. The low-dose herbicide seed dressing used in the StrigaAway technology controls the weed without impacting sensitive intercrops when planted at least 10cm away from maize hills. This allows smallholder farmers who practice intercropping to incorporate this technology in their farming systems,” she adds.
Through the Integrated Striga Management in Africa project, AAFT encourages farmers to incorporate soil fertility practices such as use of legume rotation and intercrops and fertiliser additions to replenish soil nutrients and optimise crop yields.
Since its inception three years ago, IR maize technology has enabled farmers increase harvests from a paltry average of 500kg per hectare to over 1,500kg.
The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre and the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kisumu Siaya, Bondo, Rachuonyo, Homa Bay, Busia and Vihiga.
Striga at a glance
Striga, which is also known as Violet Vampire because of its beautiful violet flowers, is a parasitic weed and a big constrain to agriculture in Sub- Saharan Africa.
The weed produces hundreds of thousands of seeds per plant leading to a massive build-up in the soil that can remain viable for more than 20 years.
Global Plant Protection News 