The effects of heavy rains has triggered the spread of Potato Virus Y (PVY), an aphid-transmitted disease, which can infect tobacco and farmers are now being advised to stop aphid infestation of tobacco.
Tobacco and potatoes are both in the solanaceae family, a vast botanical family almost entirely indigenous to the Americas, so the same diseases can affect them. There have been several reports of PVY in tobacco field crops around the tobacco growing areas, and significant yield losses have been observed.
Tobacco cultivars in Zimbabwe do not yet have resistance to PVY although efforts are underway to breed for resistance.
But farmers can reduce risk of infection by controlling aphids, the predominant carrier. In a statement, the Tobacco Research Board said farmers should rigorously control insect pests, especially aphids, in their crops.
PVY is mainly transmitted by aphids, although recent work indicates that it can also be mechanically transmitted by workers, farm implements and leaf-to-leaf contact.
So the board further encouraged farmers to maintain strict hygiene when carrying out farm operations.
“In the event that growers do encounter PVY infected plants, they are advised to immediately remove the plants while carefully avoiding contact with other uninfected plants.
“This is best achieved by placing the removed plants into a container or sack for transporting out of the field after which plants should be buried or burnt.
“If the disease incidence surpasses 10 percent it is advised that the farmers focus on optimising nutrition and application of acibenzolar-s-methyl (Bion),” read the statement.
Growers should report any behaviour in pests, diseases or varieties on the various communication platforms offered by the TRB for appropriate advice to be given.
The station head of the Plant Quarantine Services Institute, Mr Nhamo Mudada, said to ensure effective plant biosecurity Zimbabwe must abide to biosecurity regulations that make sure the movements of plant products are adhered to.
“If we abide biosecurity regulations it means pathways of pathogens will able to be checked.
“As plant health officials, we will screen any material that have diseases.
“If the products are being imported in the country have threats of pests we make sure that we treat them.
“If we cannot treat them, we destroy the pests inside. We do this to reduce biosecurity threats,” he said.
PVY had been under control for some years, but due to failure by farmers to adhere to strict regulations of destroying stalks and crop residues, the disease has since resurfaced.
Many crops, including tobacco, have strict deadlines for the destruction of seedbeds and destruction of harvest crop residue, precisely to control disease.
Zimbabwe is expecting improved tobacco yields hence farmers have been urged to report any pest outbreaks that can trigger huge economic losses if not contained, and derail the nation’s charge towards Vision 2030 of an upper middle income society.
The Government is working on boosting agricultural productivity, food security and self-sufficiency at all costs. – The Herald
