The ManicaPost
Wimbainashe Zhakata
Farming Correspondent
SMALL-SCALE farmers in Honde Valley have turned to urine as a panacea to fall army worm.
One such farmer, Mr Gibson Muparutsa, is full of praises of their discovery which he said kills the worms within hours of its application.
FAW is a chronic pest that feeds on a variety of well fertilised crops such as maize, pearl millet, sorghum and pastures among others.
Mr Muparutsa said he has been applying urine especially from females to his crops for the past two years with positive results.
He said urine from pregnant women is much effective.
“It is effective to use female urine especially from a pregnant woman to control fall army worm. One is required to mix a 500ml bottle of urine with 16 litres of water and spray the crops. You will find out that within hours of spraying the crop, the worms will be dead. I have been using this method for almost two seasons and it has been working effectively,” said Mr Muparutsa.
He encouraged other small-scale farmers to adopt natural ways to prevent pests.
“It is important to preserve other insects in the field such as ants and use environmental friendly techniques in preserving our crops. Besides that, pesticides are expensive, so natural remedies are the way to go,” he said.
In an interview, Mutasa District Agritex agronomist, Mr Abraham Matsanura, confirmed the effectiveness of using urine in controlling fall army worm.
“Women’s urine is effective in controlling the worms especially when it undergoes at least a 24-hour fermentation process. Probably it is because of the hormonal changes that take place during the gestation phase that has the cure.
“Our farmers have created a farmer field school where they meet on a weekly basis to share ideas. They use their weekly meetings to study and research more on the fall army worms,” he said. Zimbabwe Famer’s Union (ZFU) Manicaland provincial manager, Mr Dannis Chisevure, urged farmers to resort to the use of pesticides as the last option since they compromise the ecosystem.
“Chemicals may affect the ecosystem. Besides that, chemicals can lead to water pollution if washed away by the rains. This will lead to death of aquatic life among other hazards.
“Natural methods are safe to use. There is no risk of chemical residue in the final product, thus food safety to consumers. It is cheaper and safe to farmers as well,” said Mr Chisevure.
He added that the use of urine and other natural methods only work on few crops.
“These methods are area based. Some farmers believe using urine and ashes works, but this is for a small affected portion. The worms can also be destroyed through handpicking and killing them,” added Mr Chisevure.
