Farmers in Siaya have been encouraged to adapt the use of an improved treated maize seed variety that will help eradicate striga weed in their farms.
The treated seed variety known as ‘Striga Away IR maize’ has been coated with chemicals that help reduce the effect of striga weed, thus enabling the plant to grow to its full potential.
Caleb Adede, a field officer for African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), in charge of Siaya, Kisumu, Homabay and Migori Counties, said farmers have been incurring huge losses over years occasioned by the striga weed infestation in their farms.
He however expressed optimism that frequent use of the new FRC 425 IR seed variety will help farmers reduce and eradicate striga weed thus increase their crop yield by 80 percent or even 100 percent.
Addressing farmers in Siaya County, he said AATF in partnership with other organisations like USAID they have been conducting a research for the last five years to find a solution of controlling the Striga weed that is viable to stay in the soil for up to 20 years.
Willis Achola, a farmer who has 2 acres farmland expressed his disappointment after the weed infested his farm and has no hopes of reaping any harvest this season.
“This weed is killing our farms, it has affected our yields all these years,” said Achola.
Striga weed is a parasitic weed that constrains the productivity of cereal crops such as maize sorghum, millet, and rice by attaching itself to the root of the host crop.
The weed siphons nutrients from the host crop for its own growth and is responsible for 20 percent to 80 percent crop yield loss and sometimes a total crop failure in severe infestation.