AN OFFICIAL in the Ministry of Agriculture in North-Western Province has urged farmers to plant seed varieties which are appropriate to the period of time.
Mufumbwe acting senior agriculture officer, Stephen Mulenga has called on farmers in the district to stick to planting medium and late maturing varieties of maize if they planted their crops in November.
Speaking after a field day at Kalende farming camp recently, Mr Mulenga said some farmers do not know the best varieties of maize to be planted in accordance with the rainfall pattern in the district.
He said it was a pity that some farmers planted early maturing maize variety in districts like Mufumbwe which receive 1,000 to 1,500 mililitre of rainfall from mid-October to April.
Mr Mulenga said this lead to the crop getting spoiled since it gets matured well before the harvest time.
Mr Mulenga said early maturing varieties should be planted in late December or January of every year while medium and late maturing varieties should be planted in November to avoid farmers having their crops spoiled before harvest.
Most farmers who attended the field day expressed happiness with what they learnt in connection with the management of their crops in the district.
Beauty Kimena said she had learnt a lot about the type of seeds farmers were supposed to grow in Mufumbwe and when to plant to avoid crop losses.
Another farmer, Abel Kakewu said he had learnt that early maturing maize varieties should be planted either in late December or January and not in November as some farmers were doing. – ZANIS