After dwarf virus and rains, 'false smut' has paddy growers worried

The detection of false smut disease in the paddy crop has left farmers in Ambala and Kurukshetra worried. They said they were already facing losses due to the Southern Rice Black Streaked Dwarf Virus and untimely rains, and now the fungal disease had attacked the standing paddy crop. It would affect the quality of the grain as well as the yield, they claimed.

A former sarpanch of Hamidpur village in Ambala and paddy farmer, Jasbir Singh, said, “We tried different sprays to control the spread, but there were no positive results. The disease has attacked the crop at the flowering stage and prevention was very important. But due to untimely rains, the spray of fungicide was not done in time.”

Gurlal Singh, a paddy farmer from Asmanpur village of Kurukshetra, said, “False smut has affected the paddy crop and will have an adverse impact on the yield. We are staring at heavy losses this year. Though the disease affects the crop every year, this year, the intensity of attack is higher. The government and agriculture experts should find a permanent solution and protect farmers from losses.”

Prince Waraich, a spokesman of BKU (Pehowa), said, “This year, the farmers have suffered heavy losses due to dwarfism virus, waterlogging, and now false smut. The disease can be detected easily in the fields, but there is no proper treatment to control its spread. The government should order a girdawari and compensate the farmers.”

Karamchand, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Kurukshetra, said, “False smut has been detected in patches in paddy fields in the district, especially in Thanesar area. The farmers are advised not to use any spray or try to disturb the crop as it will lead to further spread of the disease. The crop will suffer discolouration and it will also impact the yield.”

Similarly, DDA (Ambala) Dr Jasvinder Saini said, “False smut has been reported in nearly 600 acre of paddy crop, primarily in the hybrid varieties, mainly at Barara, Naraingarh and Saha areas. Since the harvesting has started, the farmers are advised not to use spray as the crop will be ready for harvesting in 5-10 days. High humidity and temperatures below 30 degrees are favourable conditions for false smut.”