Agrinews January 2013 - Ministry of Agriculture

A weed is a plant growing where it
is not wanted. Weeds compete with
crops for moisture, light and nutrients
and thus reduce crop yields and
quality. They further harbour insect
pests and diseases of crop plants and
increase production costs. Some
weeds such as Solanum sp. are toxic to
animals. The presence of weed seeds
and trash in grain reduces its value.
3.3.1. COMMON TYPES OFWEEDS
1) GRASSES
Grass seedlings emerge with a
single leaf that forms a sheath
around the stem. The following are
some of the common grass weeds.
a) CYNODON DACTYLON
(Couch grass) Motlho
DESCRIPTION
This is a perennial creeping grass
that spreads by means of rhizomes,
stolons and seeds. It is widely
found throughout the country
and is usually very difficult to
control because of its network of
rhizomes and its spreading habit.
CONTROL
Control of C. dactylon is by double
ploughing in spring. To be effective,
the ploughing should ensure deep
burial of the rhizomes. Hand
pulling of the rhizome following
ploughing and burning will also help
reduce grass infestation. Harrowing
has been found to encourage its
growth even though most stems are
removed from the field. However,
herbicides can be used to effectively
control it. Glyphosate at the rate
5-61/ha is recommended. Lower
rates (31/ha) are also effective
when combined with tillage.
b) UROCHLOA MOSAMBICENSIS
(PHOKA)
DESCRIPTION
U. mosambicensis is an upright
perennial grass weed that spreads
by stolons and seeds. The stems
are slender and glabrous with a few
Weeds and their control control
their and Weeds
hairs at the inflorescene. The leaves
are broad and expanded with both
sheaths and blades covered with
hairs. It has a long hairy ligule.
The spikelets are 3-4mm long and
have glumes tinged with red colour.
CONTROL
U. mosambicensis is most common
in the Molapo fields around the
Okavango delta. If it becomes
established, it can be very difficult
to eradicate. To control this weed,
hoe weeding is normally done at an
early stage of crop growth, during the
mid-season. Hoeing is also useful in
removing weeds that have resisted a
herbicide. Two to three weedings per
season may be necessary depending
on the weed infestation level.
Most grass weeds can be successfully
controlled by primary cultivation.
2. BROADLEAVED WEEDS
Broadleaved seedlings emerge
with a pair of seed leaves. The
leaves are generally wide branched
veins. Most broadleaved weeds are
annuals completing their life cycle
in one season. This poses a big
problem for farmers since these
weeds have a similar life cycle to
most field crops. Some of the
common broadleaved weeds are:
a) DATURA FEROX (LARGE
THORN APPLE, MOKHURE)
DESCRIPTION
Datura ferox is the most common
broadleaved weed in the fields in
the Barolong farms and occasionally
elsewhere. It is a large, bushy, erect
plant that can grow to over 1m high
and spread over 1m in diameter. It
develops a deep taproot and smooth,
green, fleshy stems branching
repeatedly. Its leaves are round
and long with a diameter of up to
20cm. When crushed, the leaves
emit an unpleasant smell. Flowers
have a white tubular corolla. Its
fruit have hardened capsules, each
about 30mm in diameter with many
large spines. Seeds are produced
in large quantities. They are black
and kidney shaped with rough coat.
CONTROL
Hand-hoeing or inter-row cultivation
at early stage of weed growth is
recommended. Two herbicides,
Gardomil and Sorgomil can be used in
maize and sorghum respectively and
should be applied at an early stage
of weed growth before the six-leaf
stage. The recommended application
rate is 3.5 1/ha for both chemicals.
b) HIBISCUS SPECIES
There are three species of Hibiscus
commonly found in Botswana.
namely: H. meeusei (Wild stockrose,
Mmabasete H), cannabis (Kenaf,
moku) and H. trionum (bladderweed)
The most common Hibiscus sp. is H.
meeusei.
DESCRIPTION
Flowers of all three species are
similar, large with bright or pale
yellow petal and a deep red or purple
colour in the centre Hibiscus seeds
are black, rough and wedge shaped.
CONTROL
H. meeusei can be controlled by
hoeing or inter-row cultivation
when the plants are still young.
The herbicides recommended
above for D. ferox could also be
used to comtrol H. meeusei. In
dense infestations of H. meeusei,
ploughing or glyphosate application
at 31/ha before planting should
reduce the problem. These control
measures should be maintained
for several cropping seasons.
c) ACANTHOSPERNUM HISPIDUM
(STARBUR, KHONKHOROSE,
MMALENAKANA)
DESCRIPTION
A. hispidum is an erect, upright
annual, growing to about 50 cm
tall and higher under favourable
environmental
conditions.
Stems are hairy and branching.
Honey Production
Tapologo’s escape route
Article & photos: France Begensel
Many young women her age
stay home, unemployed
with nothing to do. Some
found solace in Chinese shops while
some roam the streets each day in
search of decent jobs. For her, it has
never been easy after completing her
Junior Secondary School education.
Failure to pass the examination meant
she could not further her studies at
senior school level, thus she had to
stay home.
An optimist, Tapologo Moloi has
never given up on anything she
pursued. It was only that insufficient
funds denied her a chance of
enrolling in private schools to further
her education. She then realised
that she could use her passion for
agriculture to make a living and stop
dependency on her parents.
As a student at Oodima Community
Junior Secondary School, she was
very interested in agriculture related
subjects and she fared well in them.
Moloi is quick to point out that while
at school she was involved in bee
keeping. “Even when I finished my JC
I decided to venture into bee keeping
because I had developed passion for
it and had already gained experience
on caring for bees as a business.”
Prior to starting her bee keeping
project, she attended a three weeks
course in bee farming at the rural
Training center in Sebele. She is
happy the course equiped her with
the necessary training to make it
on her own. She discloses that she
appreciates assistance her village
Agricultural Demonstrator, Boikhutso
Selei provided to her. She is now a
proud holder of two certificates in
that field.
Moloi started her production
of honey with only one box she
constructed herself. She discloses
that when she reaslised there was a
lot of material she could use to make
beehives, she aggressively started
making boxes because it was a lot
cheaper than buying. The 32 year old,
reveals she began with a single box
and currently has five of them.
Although all her bees have absconded,
Moloi does not see any reason to just
fold her arms and give up. She is now
working on the place where she will
permanently raise her bees. She has
planted a number of trees including
the honey sucker, which she says is
the bee’s favourite, in order to ensure
there will be plenty of food for her
bees.
She has ensured that she grows
plants that will be able to withstand
winter so that food will be available
all year round. Plants such as fruit
trees also play an important role in
honey production, the reason she has
planted them too. Moloi decries the
unavailability of water in her area of
production. She is of the view that
those like her, when assisted should
be given water tanks to store water.
She says that it is very expensive to
hire people to ferry water from the
village to the fields where her project
is located.
The mother of two attributes the
absconding of bees to a number of
challenges including, harrasment by
pests, bee pirate and harsh weather
conditions. She has learnt a lot in the
years she was in production and is
very optimistic that the coming years
will be prosperous for her as she
would also be funded by the Poverty
Eradication Programme to uplift her.
Moloi states that when she began
the project, she did not have any
particular market segment in her
plans. It was only aspiration to keep
bees for their honey. She decided
to sell her first harvest because it
was more than enough for home
consumption. She says she sold in the
village, Modipane and later decided
to sell at open markets in Gaborone.
“I never thought I could make such a
lot of money from honey. I have come
to realise that just one box harvest
can give P1500 and this is motivation
enough to grow.” The young lady
reveals that she has extended her
business to making candles, lip
balms, polish and other products
from bee wax. With a broad smile,
she narrates that these products are
also contributing towards her income.
Moloi encourages other youth to
venture into agricultural projects to
pull themselves out of the doldrums
of poverty, create employment for
themselves and others. Above all, she
says that Batswana should be able to
produce enough to feed themselves
and even export, as called for by
the Vision 2016 and the Millenium
Development Goals.
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January 2013