By Antynet Ford

Nebert Towett has doubled his watermelon yields to 20 tonnes an acre with an overhaul of pest control that changed how he was tackling the pests, and which pesticides he was using.

 Now farming in Emali, Makueni County, Nebert worked for seven years as an agronomist before starting his own farm. But he often saw big losses. Particularly severe was mosaic virus, which destroyed seven acres of a 130-acre farm he was managing during Covid.

 “When Mosaic affected the farm I was managing together with other farmers, back then, it reminded me of when there are seasons where there are diseases that come with the cold and wipe out all the fruits,” he said.

“There is no known cure of the virus and that is why if it affects a farm, the farmer is doomed.”.

“The only solution is uprooting all the crops because it affects the whole plant. When you uproot the affected crops, you then apply lime to neutralise and rotate the area with a different crop before planting watermelon in the next season,” he said.

But Mosaic virus is spread quickly from plant to plant by aphids and whiteflies meaning the way to prevent and control it is by managing the pests that carry it.

“When the crops are affected by the aphids and watermelon flies, they need spraying correctly below the leaves and in the flowers because most of the attacks come during flowering,” said Nebert. 

But, even after starting his own farm two years ago, Nebert faced persistent pest losses. 

“Back then, I would spray every week and no changes would be seen leading to harvests of as low as 10 tonnes only,” he said, with most of the damage coming during flowering when insects attacked the leaves and flowers.

But part of the losses were being caused by poor-quality pesticides, or pesticides that weren’t the best for watermelons or his area, said Nebert. 

“Some of the chemicals are much diluted and you may not even harvest properly when you use them. It is very hard to compete with farmers across the region too because the pesticides are very expensive compared to those sold in our neighbouring countries like Tanzania and Uganda,” he said.

“I have been forced to check with Pesticide and Pest Control Board (PCPB) the verified pesticides for use and also to know the ones that have been banned for use.”

“Now, I always get from a trusted agrovets where I know the seal is not broken and no dilution has happened,” he said.

“The best practice for watermelons as a farmer is ensure the field is clean and free from weeds. No bushes around. Also ensure you have a competent spray team (or be trained on how to spray) and have an agronomist who will advise you on pesticides that are not interfered with.”

Nebert said crop care from sprouting to fruiting is critical. 

“To prevent the crop from rotting, after you have planted your watermelon, after it has sprouted and has, say, four first leaves, spray with a fungicide that has copper. You can use green, blue or even red copper to protect it from fungal diseases.”

“When it gets to the flowering stage, look for a foliar that has calcium in it, or use CAN because it has calcium, which is very important in that stage and will prevent your crops rotting (Blossom end Rot),” he said.

“A lot of calcium and nitrogen are required by the crop during its flowering stage. When it fruits, I continue protecting it from caterpillars and melon fly by spraying pesticides. I rotate the pesticides to avoid the pests from adapting and becoming resistant,” he said.

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He also rotates growing watermelons with growing capsicum, onions and spinach to keep the pests down,  and applies lime or, when unavailable, manure, before replanting.

Nebert said he monitors fruit quality, which depends on soil potassium, heat, and irrigation timing, and reduces water before harvest to concentrate sugars.

As a result, “last season I harvested almost twenty tonnes from my one acre”.

The higher yields have more than covered his extra input costs, he said, and lifted his income, with now at least 4,000 fruits per acre that sell at Sh15 to Sh25 per kilo, which also covers transport costs.

“With a harvest of well over 15 tonnes, if I get a broker buying at Sh15 per kilo, that is not bad. But I always do my research to ensure that the loss is not big. I will always allow a Sh5 difference from the market trend price because of the transport cost. In my acre, I always target to have at least 4000 fruits from my acre so that when I sell at Sh15 or even Sh25 per kilo, I am making some good profit from my acre,” he said.

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