Ebukanga

Maize varieties resistant to streak virus and the parasitic weed striga are being developed by scientists. Experiments on research stations and in farmers' fields show that coating the seeds of disease-resistant maize varieties with low doses of herbidicde can increase yields up to fourfold. Because the maize seed is treated, there is no need for spraying herbicide, putting the technology well in reach of resource-poor farmers. Striga and other disease and pests are also controlled by the use of improved fallows and intercropping techniaques incorporating maize with Desmodium, a nitrogen-fixing plant that contains chemicals that attach to the striga root so that it cannot infect the maize plant. By surrounding maize and Desmodium with napier grass, a farmer is able to lure the borer away from the maize. The Desmodium pushes away the striga, and the napier pulls the stem borer to it. The technique is thus called "push-pull".