By Umar Nsubuga
Several places have started to receive rain in some parts of the country. Crops in turn are responding to the plentiful supply of water by growing rapidly.
But the water supply is helping all other plants as well including the ever-present weeds. Weeds are a menace on the farm and a constant threat to yields since they compete with your crops for water.
As the weeds multiply, they also start displacing the maize, beans or whatever other crop you have grown. In addition to competing for space with the crops, due to their rapid growth, they start suffocating the treasured plants.
Controlling weeds on the farm is a costly operation. With small-scale farmers, too much time is devoted to the control of weeds.
At the height of the weed growth, it is common for parents to order their children to skip school and help out with weeding the gardens.
Gideon Zakke, an agronomist says uprooting weeds with a hand hoe is a backbreaking chore that often defeats farmers mid-way. It is common during this season to find gardens abandoned with maize, beans and other crops swallowed by a forest of weeds.
He says on a large commercial scale, it is profitable to fight the weeds with herbicides. However, many farmers who cannot afford the cost of chemicals can still fight the weeds effectively.
Ruta Sabastian Ngambwa, the director Prime Agro Uganda Limited says, early and timely weeding is often overlooked, but it is the most effective way to control weeds.
“Farmers who start weeding when weeds have just emerged have an advantage because they allow the crops to grow quickly as they have little competition for food, water, sunlight and space,” he says.
Nagmbwa says another advantage is that early weeding allows the farmers to remove weeds with minimal effort because their roots are not yet firmly planted in the ground.
“They are easy to remove and dry out. Additionally, because the weed formation is not yet strong, their removal rarely interferes with the growth development of the weeded crops.”
He says another advantage of weeding early is that the seed weeds are not yet developed and so, cannot reproduce.
“Weeding early is strategic in controlling insect and animal pests that can either physically destroy the crops or cause the spread of diseases,” he adds.
