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Rutendo Rori Mash East Correspondent
Mashonaland East Province has set a target to put close to 230 000 hectares under maize this season, of which 55 000 hectares will be under Command Agriculture.

In an interview yesterday, provincial Agritex Extension officer Mr Leonard Munamati said this was an increase from last season, where they planted close to 225 000ha of maize.

“For our commercial maize, we are targeting 229 106ha, including 55 000 for Command Agriculture. We have also set a target for small grains and we are targeting 22 604ha of sorghum, 4 123ha pearl millet, 14 594ha rapoko, 10 000ha soya beans and 45 289ha of groundnuts,” he said.

Mr Munamati said 20 918ha were expected to be put under tobacco. He urged farmers to be cautious of armyworms, which seriously affected crops last season, threatening hopes of good yields.

“We are encouraging farmers to be wary of fall armyworms when crops are still at an early vegetative stage. If they discover any signs of that worm, they should quickly report to Agritex officers in their districts. We need to increase our yields from last season when crops were affected by the worm because it was discovered at a late stage,” said Mr Munamati.

Mr Munamati encouraged farmers to do early weed control using herbicides. Last season, incidences of the fall armyworm were reported in eight provinces, including peri-urban areas of the country. The foreign pest caused chaos in farming areas last season, attacking the maize crop at different stages of growth countrywide.

Government distributed chemicals, especially Carbaryl 85, to control the pest in affected areas. It carried out research to determine the origins of the pest and the stage at which it came in.