40 pc wheat crop in state vulnerable to yellow rust

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 12

Yellow rust has started afflicting wheat crop in pockets of the vulnerable Kandi belt of the state and its surrounding areas sending alarm bells ringing in the agriculture department.

Round-the-clock monitoring is being done by the department to check the spread of the disease. Nearly 40 percent of a total of about 33 lakh hectares of wheat crop in the state is vulnerable to the deadly disease.

The ongoing weather conditions, particularly the maximum day temperature hovering around 22 degrees and night temperatures between six and 12 degrees are ideal conditions for proliferation of the fungal disease.

The harmful air-borne pathogens or spores leading to surfacing of yellow rust on wheat plant which leave longitudinal streaks travel from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh with gusty winds. The foggy weather conditions prevailing in the region during the past 10 days have provided ideal grounds for progression of the disease.

Yellow rust has been reported in pockets of Ropar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Amritsar districts.

The department has dispatched 1.53 lakh litres of fungicide for disbursal among farmers where the disease has been reported. The department was offering 50 per cent of subsidy to farmers on the fungicide—propiconazole.

“We are capable to tackle any situation. Officials in the field have been asked to monitor the situation even during holidays and on Sundays till February 15. As per the prevailing situation, only the Kandi area seems to be prone to yellow rust and there was no possibility of its proliferation to Malwa, Majha and Doaba regions,” said Dr SK Aery, Joint Director (Plant Protection).

He said the situation is likely to improve within two weeks or once the maximum day temperature crosses 25 degrees.