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Crop protection decides whether a well-grown field reaches the market or is lost to pests and diseases. The guides in this category help African growers recognize and manage major threats such as fall armyworm in maize and late blight in tomato and potato, using integrated pest management that combines scouting, resistant varieties, good field hygiene and targeted, safe use of crop protection products.
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Scout fields at least weekly from emergence, looking for windowpane damage and fresh frass in the whorl. Act early, when larvae are small and damage is first seen. Combine practices: timely planting, intercropping, removing crop residues, and encouraging natural enemies. When thresholds are reached, apply a registered insecticide or biopesticide into the whorl, rotating active ingredients to slow resistance.
Late blight spreads fast in cool, humid weather, so prevention matters most. Use tolerant varieties, space and stake plants for air flow, irrigate at the base rather than on the leaves, and remove infected plants. Apply a registered fungicide preventively when conditions favor the disease, and continue at the recommended interval. Rotate fungicide groups and avoid planting tomato after potato or tomato.
Integrated pest management, or IPM, is an approach that combines several methods to keep pests and diseases below damaging levels while limiting pesticide use. It relies on regular field scouting, prevention through resistant varieties, crop rotation and field hygiene, protection of natural enemies, and biological or mechanical control. Chemical products are used only when needed, targeted, and applied safely.
