Punjab to survey dwarf disease-hit paddy

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 4

The government on Sunday ordered a statewide survey to assess the loss to the standing paddy crop due to the disease caused by the southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus.

The order was issued by Agriculture Director Gurvinder Singh. Agriculture Joint Director (Plants Protection) Raj Kumar has conveyed to all Chief Agriculture Officers in the state that the director had sought a detailed report from each district within 48 hours.

The latest survey conducted by scientists of Punjab Agriculture University on the dwarf disease, which has appeared for the first time in the state, has confirmed that stunted plants have been observed in rice and basmati fields in almost the entire state, especially in Ludhiana, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ropar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Gurdaspur.

Ludhiana, which has grown paddy over 2,58,600 hectares this crop season, the highest ever in the state, has reported dwarf disease in paddy over 3,500 hectares, accounting for 1.35 per cent of the total area under paddy.

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