The 2020/21 agricultural season has been a good one for most farmers as most areas around Zimbabwe received significant rains followed by a bumper grain harvest. However winter horticultural farmers are counting their losses as a significant part of their crop has been wiped out by severe frost in the past two weeks. Images have been circulating on social media showing frozen plants in the field although some can not be authenticated some are genuine. Areas that have been hit the hardest include those around the Harare, Marondera, Rusape and Gweru. Some areas such as Gweru have recorded temperatures as low as zero degrees and -3 degree Celsius in some cases. What is frost?Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing and resulting in a phase change from water vapor to ice as the water vapor reaches the freezing point. That probably sounds all bookish however any farmer who has grown a winter crop will testify how nasty frost can be and the devastation it can bring. A farmer in Marondera recently lost 10ha of peas, another one in Norton lost 5 ha of Tomatoes over night as the plants literally froze. How can a farmer prevent or manage frost? Well the first step if you are growing a winter crop in any area is to always look at your weather forecast and keep a look out for frost warning bulletins, July and early August are generally regarded as frost season. Burning tyres, hay, at strategic locations around the field will create a smoke screen especially during the time frost is expected which is usually between 2am and 6am has been seen to help to some extent. This drift of warm air from the fires is expected to flow over the crops thus reducing the chances of frost. It may seem like a tedious process but it’s worth it, a farmer will go to any length to protect his crop.There are many other ways of managing frost however these will be covered in the next article. Crop insurance really comes in handy in such cases especially if you are a small to medium scale farmer as one would have invested a significant amountof resources in most cases all their resources in the project. Most farmers shy away from getting insurance for their crops as they think it is a preserve of large commercial farmers and most assume it is expensive, however the term expensive is relative why not take the time to ask your regular insurance provider if they have a plan that can cover your crops.
Emmanuel is an Agronomist and Agribusiness specialist with more than a decade’s experience working in the agri-business industry and development sector. You can contact him on edndsep@gmail.com or WhatsApp on 0783495396
