Whitefly-like pest has invaded Kisoro District and has become a disaster to crop production as famine lingers affected Sub Counties and Town Councils.
This development has now rendered the district with no option but to appeal to the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries in Entebbe to come, establish the real pest in question and also devise means on how to have it controlled.
Kisoro District Chairman Abel Bizimana told our reporter that these suspected whiteflies were first spotted in the Republic of Rwanda in the past two years and they approached Uganda through the border as they spread to the neighbouring gardens of Kisoro District and they are now worried that the entire District could be affected.
The District Production Officer Richard Habomugisha also confided to this reporter that the invasion of these pests could therefore throw the district into a food scarcity crisis and also the agricultural potential of Kisoro District since all the major crops are affected.
The crops that are majorly affected by the suspected pest are beans both climbing and bush type, Irish potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and sweet potatoes and venomia for the staking materials for the climbing beans.
According to agriculture experts some of the affected plant leaves are deformed while others are still having their original proper shapes and in all instances there is white undergrowth on the lower side of the leaf.
It is reported that some leaves have shown all the symptoms of mosaic affected plants and some of the leaves reduce in size ,shape and at times colour as the plants get stunted, have reduced growth rates hence low yields and in beans, there are reports of over 80% of the crop is already lost and the economic injury that is caused by the pest is unbelievable.
The pests are small flies and majorly live under the leaves of the host crops and the pest is white in colour and under the affected leaves there is powdery like stuff and there are at times tiny flies like observed while flying.
Most of the Sub-counties and Town Council neighbouring Rwanda are affected and these areas grow a wide variety of crops which are also grown in Rwanda which include beans, Irish potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins and cucumber, which are the only crops grown in Kisoro District for both food security and income generation.
The affected communities include Nyarusiza Sub-county in almost throughout all the villages, Muramba Sub-county where about 10% of the villages, Chahafi Town council where at least all the villages affected, Chahi Sub-county where 10% of the area coverage of the gardens are affected, Chahafi Town Council where 10% of the villages bordering the Republic of Rwanda are affected.
The Kisoro District Production Department has so far conducted surveillance on the pest, its spread and the kind of impact they caused to crops and to which kind of crops, carried out pest identification and the severity, sensitized farmers by extension workers and all village Chairpersons in Nyarusiza and Chahi Sub counties on the pest and how to reduce on its spread and carried out trail sites for the control of the said pest.
Habomugisha said that different treatments were done using different insecticides, the team different concentrations of the different pesticides and it was found out that at 30mls of dimethoate 50EC or magic/malathion concentration in 15 litres of water, the pest can be controlled or killed effectively and village Chairpersons have been trained about the pest and how to manage it as they wait for extra support from Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries.
However, the District is facing limited knowledge about the pest among all the extension workers in identification, life cycle, control and management and limited capacity by farmers to buy pesticides and also identification of the most effective pesticides when they visit agro-input shops.
There is also limited training/knowledge among the farmers to handle the pest and lack of knowledge among the stakeholders about the pest and its management.
However, the Kisoro District Production Department has recommended the need for technical experts to deepen the identification and description of the pest and the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries should assist in selection of the best insecticides, safe use and handling that can control and manage the pest.
They also recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries should assist the district in the control of this pest with personnel, equipment and other related gears, train the crop extension workers in the management and control, earmark resources to stop this disaster from spreading to other areas and sensitize different stakeholders in control and management of this pest.
