03 Jun 2014

A young horticultural farmer, Ms Uyapo Machola, has raised concern over fruit fly, which has affected her sales, especially of butternuts.

Speaking in an interview, the 31-year-old Ms Machola, whose project is located in Masunga, stated that she had lost 90 per cent of butternuts produce due to fruit fly, which surfaced after the past rainy season.

“All my seedlings have been affected, especially during flowering and it is only now that I can see my butternut blossoming,” she said.

Ms Machola has been a farmer for more than two years, producing cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper, rape, maize, butternuts and other vegetables.

She asserted that farming was a difficult journey for her as she had encountered challenges that included pests and lack of markets, but this had not made her loose hope nor stop her business. She received financial help from the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA).

Even though she made several requests to supply Masunga Choppies, she also supplied different supermarkets such as Shoprite, Spar, and Tutume Choppies and also sells around the streets of Masunga and other surrounding areas.

Although fruit fly had been the only challenge that Ms Machola faced so far since the beginning of the year, they are usually faced with water shortage, especially towards the month of September.

She noted that this problem forced her to temporarily stop production at her farm in the past, something that she stated has taught her an important lesson on the need for a cropping plan for the success of the kind of project she is engaged in.

The Field Assistant in the Division of Plant Protection under the Department of Crops, Mr Batshani Mmapatsi, said the fruit fly is normally attracted to juicy fruits, vegetables, and other native plants.

Mr Mmapatsi noted that it is a family of large colourfully marked flies, normally seen in gardens or farms and is attracted to fruits such as oranges, peaches, mangoes, plums, nectarines, watermelons, butternuts, tomatoes and other juicy fruits.

He said this year, the plant protection division identified few of fruit flies, especially at Ditladi and Mapoka. The fruit fly causes the fruit to rot.

The field assistant advised horticultural farmers to prevent fruit fly as soon as they discover it in their gardens as early as possible before it can reproduce.

He recommended that farmers can use a mixture of water, sugar and Malathion or some killing agents to spray their crops. ENDS