Farming is becoming more challenging these days because of changes in the weather. The sun is now getting hotter, the rain doesn’t come like it used to and the seasons are not stable. Like this year, the rain came very late in my area and planting started late and this has affected farming. The change in weather condition has brought the rise in pests that destroy crops.
I noticed this on my own farm. As I was checking my plants, I saw that the leaves on some of my crops, like maize and okra, were full of holes. Some were even turning brown or tearing apart.
On my okra plant, the leaf had many holes and bite marks. I also saw a small insect sitting on it, likely the one causing the damage. This kind of pest feeds on the green part of the leaf, making it hard for the plant to grow properly.
On the maize plants, the damage was even worse. The leaves were torn with big holes. The leaves had been badly eaten, especially around the top and the center. I opened one of the maize leaves and saw small worms inside. The worms were hiding inside the leaves, especially in the middle part where the leaves fold together.
These worms are most likely fall armyworms. They are very destructive and can damage large parts of the maize plant or even the farm if not controlled.
Before now, pests like these were not common. The cold season usually helped to reduce their numbers. But now, because the weather is hot most of the time, these pests are increasing. They are growing faster, living longer and spreading to more farms. The heat and lack of rain are also making the plants weak, so pests find it easy to attack them. Even with th pesticide I spread earlier, it stil couldn't handle the pest totally.
Another problem might be that the crops themselves are weaker. Since there is no enough rain and the heat is too much, the plants dry up and lose strength. Thiskind of situation gives pests an easier time to feed on them. If the plants are healthy, they can sometimes fight pests on their own, but weak plants cannot and because a me of those plants are weak due to the weather condition, they could not fight those pest.
This rise in pest attacks on those plants is making farming difficult for many of us. When the pests eat the leaves, the plant cannot make food for itself. As a result, the plant grows slowly, and the harvest becomes poor.
I don't really know is there's any remedy for the control of pest especially in this season of increase climate change. I hope I will get a solution for this soon.