Cassava Production: Bayer Launches New Herbicide to Combat Weeds

Gilbert Ekugbe

Bayer Nigeria Limited has launched a new crop protection product known as Lagon to help farmers tackle the problem of weeds in cassava and raise yield.

According to a statement issued by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the herbicide has been tested on more than 200 trials and demos across Nigeria and Tanzania, noting that Lagon was rated among the top best preemergence herbicides for control of both grasses and broad-leaf weeds in cassava.

The Country Sales Manager, Bayer Nigeria Limited, Temitope Banjo, said the launch of Lagon aims to provide a big relief to farmers, saying that these are exciting times for cassava farmers.

“Farmers need not to worry about weeds anymore,” he added.
He added that weeds have remained a major challenger to increased cassava productivity in Nigeria and Africa in general, with women spending about 500 hours annually to keep a hectare of cassava weed-free using hoes.
He said manual method of weed control compromises the health of resource-constrained farmers and in some cases, children are pulled out of school to support weeding.

“When left uncontrolled, weeds compete for water, nutrients and space with cassava and depress yield by 40-90 per cent,” he said.
To tackle the menace of weeds, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) managed the Cassava Weed Management Project, and in the last eight years, screened more than 40 preemergence herbicides both on-station and on-farm. The trials and subsequently demonstrations were conducted in Abia, Benue, Ogun and Oyo states in Nigeria, and in Tanzania.

Across the four states, which represent the key agroecological zones that predominantly grow cassava in Nigeria, yield of cassava from Lagon treated fields were more than double the national average and were above 20 tons per hectare. Furthermore, cassava plants treated with Lagon were more vigorous compared to those on fields where the product was not used.

The Director for Development & Delivery at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Alfred Dixon, said the Cassava Weed Management Project team also conducted residue analysis on the leaves, stems and roots of cassava.

“The residue analysis provided negative results, meaning that Lagon is safe to be applied on field crops, particularly cassava,” Dixon added.
Farmers who use Lagon commended the preemergence herbicides for its efficacy.

According to a Cassava Commercial Seed Producer, Mrs. Ngufan Chichi, the use of Lagon on farmers’ fields was doing ‘wonders’ and helping farmers to increase their yields and profits.

She said the use of Lagon has helped her group to increase the size of their cassava farm in Benue.
“This is possible because we now manage weeds in cassava better,” she said, adding that with Lagon farmers were saving more on the cost of weeding,” she said.
Chichi called on the government to support the dissemination of Lagon so that more farmers could have access to the product and make more returns from growing cassava.