BELT – THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION IN COMBATING FALL ARMYWORM

By Penjani Nzima

THE various devastating impacts on the farming community caused by climate change include among the notable ones prolonged dry spells, flash floods and the fall armyworm.

These happenings have wrecked serious havoc on the farmers to a point where most small-scale farmers have even lost hope as they seem not to find any workable solutions especially in the fight against the fall armyworm.

A lot of different pesticides bearing various brand names have been purchased by farmers from both well-established and unrecognized agro dealers with the hope of eradicating the fall armyworm in their fields but to no avail.

Nonetheless, farmers should not despair as Bayer Zambia has the ultimate solution in the combat of fall armyworm.

This remedy comes in the name of BELT which is in a relatively new class of chemistry that is diamide – It has no limitations of fighting fall army worm at whatever growth stage of the caterpillar will be affected and stop feeding eventually dies within seventy – two hours.  

According to Geoffrey Matutu, Bayer Field Agronomist for Southern Africa countries, in an exclusive interview disclosed that Belt has a very good environmental profile lasting only three days in the plant system after application thereby rendering no any harmful effect on human beings or animals that may feed on the produce that plant afterwards.

“Some chemicals have far reaching consequences where some residual levels of the product will still be in the produce and when it is fed to livestock or mammals there’s an accumulation of toxins in the tissue of that particular mammal or human beings that is the other part of this product it is very safe for the environment,” he emphasized.

Furthermore, he emphasized on the very good residual effect that Belt poses in comparison to other pesticides on the market.

“When you spray Belt on the surface of the leaf for it will remain effective. for example, if the moth has laid eggs for armyworm and then you spray Belt before the eggs hatch. At the time the eggs will be hatching the new larvae that will hatch from the eggs the moment it feeds on the surrounding it will already be taken by Belt. So, it has good residual effect,” he explained.

Mr. Matutu added saying Belt is target specific implying that it will not affect any other different living organisms in the eco system that are inter-relatively surviving and beneficial to human beings in one way or another.

“When you’re using belt, it will specifically affect that particular pest if there’s a bee playing around near there the bee will not even feel it that you’ve applied some product. A diamide like Belt eliminates the risk of killing unintended pest,” said Mr. Matutu.

He indicated that Belt is a product that must be mixed with water, applied through spraying and no requirement of buffers, stickers or aduvant to enhance its efficacy.

Mr. Matutu categorized the packaging of Belt as 4ml(mono dose) to suit into a single knapsack (16l - 18l) sprayer, 50 ml to cover a200l drum of water and a one litre for commercial usage.  

He has since advised the farmers to buy Belt from recommended agro dealers such as all Omnia outlets, Lusaka Agro Vet, all ATS outlets in five provinces and several other agro dealers across the provinces.

Mr. Matutu noted that Bayer gives a recommendation of the selling retail price but each agro dealer sets a trading markup.

“The 4ml is in the range of K20 and won’t exceed K30, the50 ml will be available at a retail price of around K 200 and the one litre retailing around K 3,000,” he said.

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