Anne Mugisa
5 November 2009
Kampala — THE Ministry of Agriculture has reported an outbreak of the sweet potato hornworm in Teso and Kigezi regions.
The agriculture state minister, Henry Bagiire, said the Government had acquired 200 litres of pesticides to kill the worm that has invaded the Teso districts of Amuria, Soroti and Kumi and Rukungiri district in Kigezi.
Bagiire said the hornworm eats leaves of potatoes, leaving bare stems and destroying the crop's ability to form tubers.
He said the worm, which is actually a caterpillar, comes from a moth which is highly mobile and favoured by the wet weather.
He said the pest seemed more virulent this time round. He warned that the worm could spread to other parts of the country.
He said the moth lays multitudes of eggs wherever it lands. The eggs produce caterpillars which eat potato foliage.
The minister said the worm was threatening food security because it had invaded most areas that produced potatoes.
He said the Teso region had suffered droughts and floods which had devastated the regions food production.
According to Bagiire, crop pest outbreaks are likely to appear in different parts of Uganda with the onset of the rains.
Bagiire asked people with small gardens to collect the caterpillars and burn or bury them. He said in large gardens, the pest could be killed by spraying.
Bagiire said the chemicals that are used to kill the pest include Cypermethrin and Deltamethrin. He said systemic insecticides like Dimethoate and Imidacloprid could also be sprayed.
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