Table 1: Some important seed borne organisms of relevance to Zambia Crop Organism Disease maize Cob rot Fusarium spp Cob rot Diplodia spp Bacterial leaf blight Erwinia stewartii Downy mildew Scleropthora microspora sorghum Smut Spacelotheca spp Claviceps microcephala Ergot Claviceps purpureum Seed rot Fusarium moniliform groundnuts Seed rot Aspegillus spp Seed rot Fusarium spp Common beans Colletotrihum Lindermuthianum Anthracnose Pseudomonas phaseseolicola Halo blight Xanthomonus phaseoli Common blight Bean common mosaic Soya beans mildew Peronospora manshuria Stem rot Sclerotinia sclerotorium Seed rot leaf and stem blight Phomoosis sp Colletotrichum sp Pea Leaf spot Ascochyta pisi Leaf spot Mycosphaerella pisi 2.4 Weeds Apart from insects and diseases, weeds are quite a significant pest which can significantly reduce crop yield if not properly managed. Weeds compete with crops for nutrients, water, and light and impair the efficiency of field machinery. Yield losses due to weed competition occur mainly during the initial stages of growth and early weed control gives the greatest increase in the yield. 3. Pest Management Ensuring sustained crop production requires effective and timely control of pests which can cause crop damage or interfere with its growth either directly e.g.,insects or indirectly by pathogens which spread diseases. Only then will the crop grow well to realise its full yielding potential. There are four common approaches to pest control namely physical or mechanical, chemical control, biological control and integrated encompassing a range of interventions. 3.1 Physical and Mechanical Pest Control This option entails use of physical or mechanical means to destroy or control the target pest. This option includes examples such as: Weeding using hands or a hoe; Weeding using a harrow; Handpicking of pests e.g., removal of caterpillars or grasshoppers by hand; Scaring away or trapping of birds; Burning of crop residue; Trapping of pests e.g., use of rodents or bird traps; and Putting up physical barriers e.g. a wire mesh or net to prevent pests from attacking the crop.
Table 1: Some important seed borne organisms of relevance to Zambia Crop Organism Disease maize Fusarium spp Diplodia spp Erwinia stewartii Scleropthora microspora Cob rot Cob rot Bacterial leaf blight Downy mildew sorghum Spacelotheca spp Claviceps microcephala Claviceps purpureum Fusarium moniliform Smut Ergot Seed rot groundnuts Aspegillus spp Fusarium spp Seed rot Seed rot Common beans Colletotrihum Lindermuthianum Pseudomonas phaseseolicola Xanthomonus phaseoli Bean common mosaic Anthracnose Halo blight Common blight Soya beans Peronospora manshuria Sclerotinia sclerotorium Phomoosis sp Colletotrichum sp mildew Stem rot Seed rot leaf and stem blight Pea Ascochyta pisi Mycosphaerella pisi Leaf spot Leaf spot 2.4 Weeds Apart from insects and diseases, weeds are quite a significant pest which can significantly reduce crop yield if not properly managed. Weeds compete with crops for nutrients, water, and light and impair the efficiency of field machinery. Yield losses due to weed competition occur mainly during the initial stages of growth and early weed control gives the greatest increase in the yield. 3. Pest Management Ensuring sustained crop production requires effective and timely control of pests which can cause crop damage or interfere with its growth either directly e.g.,insects or indirectly by pathogens which spread diseases. Only then will the crop grow well to realise its full yielding potential. There are four common approaches to pest control namely physical or mechanical, chemical control, biological control and integrated encompassing a range of interventions. 3.1 Physical and Mechanical Pest Control This option entails use of physical or mechanical means to destroy or control the target pest. This option includes examples such as: Weeding using hands or a hoe; Weeding using a harrow; Handpicking of pests e.g., removal of caterpillars or grasshoppers by hand; Scaring away or trapping of birds; Burning of crop residue; Trapping of pests e.g., use of rodents or bird traps; and Putting up physical barriers e.g. a wire mesh or net to prevent pests from attacking the crop.