The ManicaPost
Wimbainashe Zhakata Farming Correspondent
THE cotton hectarage planted in Manicaland this season has hit the 20 000ha mark despite the severe mid-season dry-spell for the greater part of December 2019 which delayed planting.
Statistics from Agritex this week show that about 20 910 hectares had been planted so far in Manicaland compared to 24000ha planted last season.
Agritex provincial agronomist Mr Cephas Mlambo said though farmers did not plant on time, planting has resumed following the recent wet spell.
“The cotton season in the Lowveld starts from October 5 onwards and is supposed to end by January 31. In the Highveld it starts from October 20 to January 31.
“However, the mid-season dry spell in which the province received rains late in November, following which the greater part of December had no rainfall, forced the farmers to delay cotton planting,” said Mr Mlambo.
“About 20 525ha have been planted against a target of 23 880ha, of which 2 565ha were planted in Buhera, 1 080ha were planted in Mutare, 75ha in Mutasa, 1ha in Makoni, 8 065ha in Nyanga and 9 200ha in Chipinge.
“Planting is still ongoing in Chipinge,” he said.
Mr Mlambo said the planting period in the Lowveld should have ended on January 31.
“Farmers are still doing late crop planting since the planting window in the Lowveld should have ended on January 31. Due to the recent rains, cotton planting has resumed in Chipinge.
Planting it is still in progress and we expect the hectarage to increase.
“Farmers have been waiting for the rains so that they could attain the targeted hectarage.
“They had stopped because the situation was not looking good.
“The bulky of the cotton is at vegetative stage in most of the districts.
“In the northern parts of the province the cotton crop is fairly good,” said Mr Mlambo.
He said effective rains were mostly received on the northern part of the province while lesser rains were received on the southern.
Cotton growers are being urged to preserve moisture in the fields.
“We advise cotton growers to continue planting and put in place measures that conserve moisture.
“Such measures include ridges, potholing and mulching, among others,” said Mr Mlambo.
Cotton growers received farming inputs from the Presidential Input Support Scheme, Command Agriculture and cotton companies.
The inputs include seed, Compound L, chemicals and top-dressing fertilisers, among others.
