‘Neck blast’ disease devours Pusa-1401 paddy in Sirsa

Sushil Manav

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Tribune News Service

Sirsa, October 4

After cotton and guar, farmers who transplanted Pusa-1401 paddy have reported damage to their crop due to the ‘neck blast’ disease.

A large number of farmers from Talwara, Khurd, Thani Mauju, Thobrian, Mirjapur and other neighbouring villages today assembled in Ellenabad to discuss the issue.

The farmers met Jagdish Chopra, Political Adviser to CM Manohar Lal Khattar, and gave him a memorandum addressed to Khattar and also a bundle of plants affected by the disease.

“No one has control over nature. Farmers worked hard to grow their crops but nature had some other plans. But our government is sensitive to the farmers’ concerns and will definitely do whatever is possible,” Chopra assured the farmers. Chopra said he would apprise the CM of the situation.

Pura 1401, called “Muchhal basmati” in common parlance, is a popular variety of basmati which has been sown by many farmers in the area.

“My crop in 80 acres has started turning white leaving its panicles dying prematurely within four days. We have been told that this is an attack of neck blast, a fungal infection of paddy,” said Jugraj Singh, a farmer from Talwara Khurd village of Sirsa.

He said a large number of farmers of the area had planted this variety and had spent over Rs 15,000 per acre on seeds, irrigation, sprays and labour.

Neck blast, according to agricultural experts, occurs when the pathogen infects the neck of the panicle. The infected neck is girdled by a greyish brown lesion and the panicle falls if the infection is severe, the experts maintain.

“If neck blast occurs before the milk stage (rice forming stage), the entire panicle may die prematurely, leaving it white and completely unfilled,” say agricultural experts.

Babu Lal, Deputy Director (Agriculture) at Sirsa, admitted that neck blast had hit the Pusa-1401 paddy crop and the department had advised spraying of the crop with fungicides.