Bauchi – Maize Farmers in Bauchi State, north-east Nigeria, recorded 100 per cent yield per hectare in the past three years as a results of adopting striga weed control techniques introduced in 2011.

Striga Weed also known as Witches Weed
PHOTO: Wikipedia

Programme Manager of Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP) Dr Iliyasu Gital, speaking in Bauchi on Monday that the techniques had helped control damage done to crops by triga weed, specie of parasitic plant that suffocates and destroys crops.

He said that the techniques, namely crop rotation, mixed cropping and the application of viral powder, were copied from Kenya, and had proved to be very effective.

Gital explained that before the introduction of the techniques, 25 Agriculture Extension Agents were trained, after which each of them selected 20 farmers within his areas of jurisdictions for trial.

“20 farmlands were selected, who established demonstration farms. Each farmer adopted one of the newly introduced techniques of triga control on their maize, sorghum and cow-pea farms.

“Where farmers used to get 50 per cent yield, they got 100 per cent of their potential yield, while where some earlier recorded zero yield due to damage by striga, they got 50 per cent and subsequent years, recorded 100 per cent,” he revealed.

According to him, the success of the techniques is being reviewed constantly and where problems are detected, experts are invited to conduct research.