Greetings Everyone.
I never knew a challenge like this was on going, I hope it's not too late to join the challenge, my maize is exactly three weeks old today, though it's Sunday but I still visited my maize farm to see how my crops are doing.
In the image above we can see how the insects are really feeding on the leaves, once done the maize dies off.
I was expecting rodents to attack the farm like they are attacking my friend's farm but on the contrary I haven't noticed or observed any rodent attack, I have only observed that insects are feeding on the leaf and stem of my maize causing them to die off slowly.
A friend advised me to apply insect repellent which I did, they left the maize for sometime but I have started observing and seeing signs as if the insects are back again and this time they are not just attacking the maize but also my melon, I don't know if there's anything I can do, my comment section is open to suggestion from anyone that has an idea about what I can do.
As from tomorrow been Monday, I plan to start removing the weeds before it get worst and goes beyond my control and afterwards do some fertilizer application so my maize can do better.
| Camera details | Phone details |
|---|---|
| Rear camera 13 Mega pixel | Infinix Hot 9 play |
| Selfie camera 8 Mega pixel |
Look up fall army worm.
I am having the same problem. They quickly adapt to chemical sprays which are bad for all of us. I have tried neem oil, citronella oil with soap, and have got mixed results for short periods of time. I am running low on the supplies so I will also be looking at using garlic and pepper spray. But it also looks like you need to get them before the flower comes out and they damage the top of the plant and before they get into the stem and corn. Many of my corn are blowing over now because the base of the stem has been attacked.
There also seems to be a bacteria that can be used and sprayed. It is called BT i cant remember the full name. But one variety even effects pollinators and good bugs, so we have to do our research very well.
Fall army worm seems to be pretty new in Ghana potentially introduced as late as 2017. Do I guess we are seeing a major wave of that throughout the region. I am also seeing Japaneses Beetle which is getting a lot of crops for me.
Thanks a lot for your support and also suggesting a way out of the situation I am in, it has not been easy dealing with these fall army worm, they have really dealt with my crops indeed and I will be trying all just as you have suggested.
Thanks a lot sir.
Saan ang sa inyo sis?