[ad_1]
Lagos State Government has on Wednesday distributed Downy Mildew Resistant (DMR) and Leaf Streak Resistant (LSR) – Y (Yellow) hybrid maize seedlings to no fewer than 650 farmers in the state as palliatives for the on-going planting season.
Prince Gbolahan Lawal, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, said that the donation to the farmers was parts of the State Government’s efforts at dealing with the problem of shortage of food caused by the Corona Virus pandemic.
He said that maize being one of the most useful cereal crops in West Africa is an important source of carbohydrate, protein, iron, vitamin B and minerals and is known to digest very quickly.
Lawal stressed that the maize was very simple to cultivate and easy to maintain, especially the maize Downy Mildew Resistant (DMR) and Leaf Streak Resistant (LSR) – Y (Yellow) hybrid maize seed which has an early maturing window of 75 days.
The Commissioner noted that apart from the early maturity benefit of the DMR-LSR-Y hybrid maize, it is also resistant to leaf defoliation and cob diseases, requires minimal amount of fertilizer dosage just as it is highly resistant to maize streak which affects the seedlings at maturity and is highly nutritional to the human body.
READ MORE: How farmers can survive Covid-19 pandemic
“With all the qualities, there will be a better and higher yield than what farmers had been having at harvests thus culminating in more profit. The effect is that the farmers have seeds to plant in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic where they have been finding it difficult to get good seeds and inputs. “Also, the seeds are hybrid which means that they can multiply it for late maize and next year’s planting seasons. Hybrid maize usually generates high yields, increased value and reduced production costs. The plants are bigger, stronger and more vigorous,” Lawal said.
Speaking further Lawal noted that in view of the importance of maize farming in Nigeria, efforts are continuously geared towards increasing maize farming yield per unit area of land and to extending areas where it can be grown, especially the cultivation of dry areas as improved through irrigation.
[ad_2]