After maize, Kangra vegetable crops under white fly attack

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, July 27

Vegetable crops are under attack by white fly in the lower hills of Kangra district. The pest attack comes after the recent damage caused by fall armyworm to the maize crop in the area.

On top of this, the farmers claimed that the Agriculture Department was yet to swing into action and visit their fields to monitor and check the attack of white flies. As per information, the department was suffering from acute shortage of the field technical staff that could visit the fields and apprise the farmers about the attacks and measures to check the pest.

In the lower hills of the district, vegetable farming is a lucrative occupation. Farmers in these areas produce vegetables such as okra, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, cucumber and ridged gourd during the season. Farmers Vikram Singh and Balbir of Rit, Harnam Singh and Jaimal of Bassa-Pathania, Uttam Singh, Subhash Singh and Ratan Singh of Kopra lamented that they had earlier suffered losses after fall armyworm damaged the maize crop and now white flies were ruining their vegetable plants, shattering their hopes to earn profit.

Kangra Bhartiya Kisan Union president Suresh Pathania said the Agriculture Department hadn’t taken any step to control the pest. Earlier, it had failed to provide adequate quantity of insecticides to check fall armyworm, he added.

Dr Rahul Katoch, Deputy Director, Agriculture Department, Palampur, said the department had got the information about white fly attacks. “The department has constituted special technical field teams of the state bio-control laboratories at Palampur and Nurpur. The teams will visit the fields and sensitise the vegetable growers about pest attacks. Experts will also suggest remedial measures to them,” he said.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Agriculture #Kangra #nurpur