The Vice President of the National Association of Agribusiness Group (NABG), Mr Emmanuel Ijewere, has alerted farmers in Nigeria of the return of Tuta-absoluta, known as Tomato Ebola.
He made the disclosure of the possible return of the disease, at a one-day Tomato Price Stabilisation Forum, held in Kaduna, during the weekend.
He said that with the help of research conducted by the Nigerian Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT), on how to combat Tomato Ebola, farmers could easily tackle the infestation by “putting water and detergent in a plastic bowl, and placing a stone on it. Then beam a rechargeable lamp on the bowl.”
He said morphs and flies responsible for the diseases easily get attracted to light, and as a result of that, they fall into the bowl.
Ijewere blamed the epidemic caused by Tuta absoluta on farmers’ ignorance on how to combat plant diseases, adding that “the infestation could also be cured with extract collected from lime tree leaves, when sprayed on tomato plants.
“Farmers don’t have to spend so much money on buying chemicals that are sometimes harmful."
“We are now improving their level of education, and this year, we are prepared as we have been having lessons on how to effectively get rid of it for good,” he said.
Source: tribuneonlineeng.com
