Maseno Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) Principal Charles Odera has urged farmers from Maseno in Kisumu County to plant weed resistant maize varieties to maximise their produce.
Speaking to Journalists on the sidelines of an Agricultural Open Day held on Tuesday, Principal Odera said that days the weed problem which was once a headache to many farmers has been taken care of.
“A common weed in the area known as 'Strigger' is the main weed that has posed a threat to farmers over the years, and now we have the EH10, EH12, and EH14 maize seeds that are resistant to the weed. These are hybrid seeds that can only be planted once and I therefore urge all farmers in this region to adopt it,” said Odera.
He said Strigger is dangerous and a very destructive weed whose capsule contains over 5,000 seeds which could take over 15 years to be cleared which means most farms still have the weed, but the new seed will not be affected.
The weed resistant maize varieties are a result of research done by Maseno University Professors Dida and Odhiambo from the development of maize species.
Principal Odera added that being weed resistant, the maize also return high yields because they utilise all the available manure in the farm.
He was speaking on Tuesday at the ATC during the annual Agricultural open day that saw farmers from the entire Kisumu County attend.