Deadly caterpillars ravage 90 acres of potatoe gardens in Ngora district

By Jonah Osike

Ngora – 1, November 2021: Ngora district residents are panicking following the emergence of a deadly sweet potatoe hornworm caterpillars.

Hornworm is a large caterpillar with a horn-like tail that feeds on the leaf blade causing large irregular holes or may start feeding on the leaf edges eventually eating the entire leaf blade, leaving only the petiole.

This caterpillar majorly feeds on plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, yams, eggplants, beans among others. It causes severe defoliation of the plants and generally the yields will be affected since the plants are still young.

Mike Odongo Lo’Asio is the LC5 chairman Ngora district. He confirmed that the said caterpillars have severely affected about 90 acres of land across eight villages of Agule, Kopege, Agu, Orit, Kopelu, Ngora, Kees and Angod in Ngora Sub-county.

Odongo added, “This caterpillars seem to be so dangerous because it’s extremely sluggish, moving only enough to reach a new leaf after one has been consumed.”

He now calls upon the government to intervene by initiating integrated pest management strategies as part of the rescue efforts to curb the threat amongst the locals (farmers).

“Government should intervene as soon as possible because this can easily lead to hunger in the community which is not our wish,” Odongo told TND News.

He advises farmers to carry out routine farm visits to check for pests and disease outbreaks, and tasked them to seek for guidance on how to control them early.

The LC5 further challenges farmers to consult extension staff for technical guidance before they spray their crops with pesticides upon appearance of pests in their gardens.

“I want to call upon farmers to carry out regular field monitoring and report any pests and disease outbreak to the sub county or the district production department or to any local council leaders within the community for timely interventions,” he continued.

When using a pesticide, he said farmers should always wear protective clothing and follow the instructions on the product label, such as dosage, timing of application, and pre-harvest interval.

Some of the locals who spoke to TND News Osike were worried that the caterpillars, if not tackled will lead to low yields eventually leading to hunger.

“We kindly call upon government to send some agricultural experts to look into this matter with immediate response ” they said.

Last year, desert locusts invaded parts of Eastern and North Eastern Uganda, ravaging crop gardens. Government spent billions of money in chasing them away.

How much will government release for these deadly caterpillars? TND News will bring you details.