Armyworm invasion hits crops across SA

The fall armyworm invasion is confirmed to have widened and spread across all South African provinces except the Western Cape.

Farmers in Limpopo‚ North West and the Free State first reported the caterpillar last month.

Dr Gerhard Verdoorn‚ director at Griffon Poison Information Centre (Crop Life SA)‚ said the crop pest was rapidly moving south and east. Because most farmers were unaware of the invasion the fight against the caterpillar could be compromised.

“The fall armyworm was identified in south and east KwaZulu-Natal‚ mainly on maize‚” said Verdoorn. It had been confirmed that potatoes on Groblersdal‚ Limpopo farms had been affected by the invasion‚ he said.

It is not yet clear how commercial maize crops have been affected‚ but a growing number of small-scale and subsistence farmers have lost their maize crops.

“There is progress in areas where farmers are controlling and are aware of which pesticides to use. The use of registered pesticides is successfully controlling the fall army worm‚” said Verdoorn.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is coordinating the campaign against the caterpillar.

It is working closely with the agriculture research council‚ academics from University of the North West‚ the seed industry‚ the plant science industry and Grain SA.

Department spokesman Bomkazi Molapo said the bulk of the country’s maize crop was “minimally affected“. There had been reports of the pest affecting sorghum‚ soya and groundnut crops.