Farmers are worried following an outbreak of a pest attack that is wiping away tomatoes in Rift Valley and Central. The pest known as Tuta absoluta, a grey-brown moth that is 7mm, wipes out up to 100 per cent of the yield within days and has no known cure. The invasive pest attacks fruits both in the open farm and in the greenhouses.
Agricultural expert Joyce Njoroge, says the pest is lethal and a female pest can produce up to 260 eggs in 21 days. Njoroge, who works with Kenya Biologics Ltd, a consortium of scientists who help farmers with information on how to improve crop production, says the pests can destroy 100 per cent of the crops in the field. Njoroge explains: “It is not a viral disease nor is it blight. These are very dangerous pests, which can destroy a whole harvest.”
The larval period, according to scientist is the worst stage where the pest grows into a caterpillar which feeds on the leaves of the tomato. According to Dr Wilson Rono, a food crop scientist at the Food Agricultural Organisation, the moth destroys the photosynthetic activity of plant and thereby destroying the whole crop. Rono says: “...a multi-institutional technical team comprised of Mininistry of Agriculture, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), Kenya Agricultural Research Organisation (Karlo) and University of Nairobi, was constituted to carry out survey on the pest. The team was rallied together following reports by stakeholders indicating the presence of a new pest causing symptoms resembling the migratory tomato leaf miner.”
The Government has embarked on public awareness and capacity building of the extension service providers, plant inspectors, transporters, county market personnel and the farmers on identification skills and general management of the pest.
Dr Rono says the migratory pest, is suspected to have entered Kenya through Ethiopia.
Source: standardmedia.co.ke

Announcements
Job Offers
- Account Manager
- Lead IoT Engineer - KAUST near Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Quality Assurance System Manager
- Junior Quality Control Technician
- Regional Sales Manager - Root, Switzerland
- Horticulture Specialist - Guelph (Ontario) Canada
- Technical Director - Brussels, Belgium
- Senior Maintenance Engineer - USA East coast greenhouse facility, location negotiable
- Greenhouse Assistant - Abbotsford (BC) Canada
- Technical Service Manager - remote, US based




Specials more
Top 5 -yesterday
- "It will be one of the largest avocado growing sites in the region once developed"
- Bill Gates becomes largest farmland owner in the US
- UK has deregulated citrus imports, including those from South Africa
- Peru's mandarin achieves a new export record in 2020
- First shipments of Colombian organic avocados arrive
Top 5 -last week
Top 5 -last month
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2021-01-21 Fair prices for seasonal vegetables
- 2021-01-21 Cold and logistics difficulties cause vegetable price hike in major Chinese cities
- 2021-01-21 US sees upsurge in cauliflower demand
- 2021-01-21 "Two of our tomato varieties got Flavor of the Year awards"
- 2021-01-21 Germany increased tomato imports from Morocco by 246.1%
- 2021-01-21 White cabbage prices up in parts of Ukraine
- 2021-01-21 Moldova: Overstocks of potatoes and carrots hold up prices
- 2021-01-20 Small acreage, steady growth
- 2021-01-20 "It's challenging to get enough vegetables on the shelves"
- 2021-01-20 Qatar Ministry plans to establish plant factories for leafy greens
- 2021-01-20 California celery market easing off somewhat
- 2021-01-19 Malaysia: Supply shortage drives up prices in Johor, Perak, Kelantan, Pahang
- 2021-01-19 South Florida Farm to Inmate Program benefits both growers and state
- 2021-01-19 Warmer soil poses challenges for pumpkins
- 2021-01-19 New-Tech standing pouches cut fresh food waste
- 2021-01-19 Peruvian asparagus exports fell by more than 8% in volume and value in 2020
- 2021-01-19 "Cauliflower market has recovered quickly, but everything still depends on the weather"
- 2021-01-19 "Scarcity of Asian vegetables; situation of other Spanish greenhouse vegetables more relaxed"
- 2021-01-19 Black cabbage, the new entry at the growers' organization Aop Luce
- 2021-01-19 Ample organic cauliflower on the market