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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 76230, member: 636"] Umguza Rural Development Council agronomist Leo Maphosa says the rainy season creates perfect conditions for crops to explode with growth, but it also brings flooding and disease pressure that can wreck entire harvests if farmers slack off. He told reporters that growers in Matabeleland need to plant on raised beds, split up their nitrogen fertilizer applications to prevent nutrients from washing away, and spray fungicides every week or so when the rain gets heavy. Maphosa is pushing biological pest controls like Bacillus subtilis instead of just hammering fields with pyrethroids, since bugs are developing resistance fast, and the chemicals kill off helpful insects. He says watermelon and butternut planting windows are basically closed at this point, and farmers should focus on hybrid tomatoes and green maize varieties that can handle the wet conditions better. [/QUOTE]