Journey through the beautiful farming plains of Taraba (Pictorial)

[Achi]

Hi folks,

Recently, I had cause to travelled to Taraba after a long while. What struck me was how much more land has been placed under cultivation. It was interesting to see huge tracks of land with healthy crops. It thrilled me to no end. Here are some pictures of the beautiful landscape being put to use to help feed our citizens.

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However, it is not all good news. There were traces of army worm invasion in some farms. I stopped by to have a look.

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And here, I found the culprit.

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I met with a farmer whom I talked to and went round his farm. His complaints expectedly were: (1)Army worms, (2) striga weed (also known locally as wata wata), (3) fertilizer. He thinks the army worms are the worst of the three. I couldn't agree more.

After extracting the worms to show me, he left me staring at the distructive worm wiggling on my palm. As he walked away he reminded me in a terse voice to make sure I squashed that one worm dead. That one worm to him was not inconsequential in the war to save his crops. The tone of his voice gave me a sense that the battle line has been drawn between bugs and farmers in Taraba. And may the farmers win.

[bonama]

Great info. Did you ask how the farmers are tackling the army worm infestation? It would be great to learn from their experiences.

[Josh123]

Nice!

[Achi]

Great info. Did you ask how the farmers are tackling the army worm infestation? It would be great to learn from their experiences.

I did. They are pretty clueless at the moment because the measures they have tried had failed to halt the spread. For now it's limited and they resort to identifying the affected plants and carefully destroy them. They made me understand they are consulting with the authorities.

[bonama]

Army worms are tough but the following helps.

Avoid using general purpose insecticides at once. These kill insects that feed on the worms and are harmless to the maize plants. For example wasps and tachinid flies feed on army worms. Some of these wasps lays eggs on the armyworm's back killing them when their larvae bore into the armyworms to feed. Beetles, Birds, toads and skunks also feed on the worms. Also, weeding the farm is important keep egg-laying adults at bay. Avoid planting in low wet areas, as that attracts the adult caterpillars.

There are various chemicals that are approved for use against armyworms that will not harm your crops. There are several and are available in agro shops. These should be applied as per recommended dose.

[byronnoF]

Oh MY OH MY OH MY That was stupendous Our home is out there... every beautiful inch of it I can hardly wait... but of course I will.
Thank you Dat...It has been a long time since I have been so moved by a video.

With Love,
Sandy