JAGATSINGHPUR: Loss of paddy crop due to false smut and pest attack has left thousands of farmers of district worried.
False smut is a disease which reduces the size of grains. In the last kharif season, paddy was cultivated over 86,220 hectare (ha) of land in the district.
Of the total cultivated land, standing crop in 30,000 ha was damaged in cyclone Bulbul in November. Rainwater inundated paddy fields causing germination of crops which were ready for harvesting.
The crop which survived the cyclone has now been affected by false smut. Sources said different varieties of paddy crops have been affected by the disease which has also discoloured the grain.
False smut has affected Jagatsinghpur, Biridi, Raghunathpur, Balikuda and Tirtol blocks of the district the most. Rain, high humidity and soil with high nitrogen content favour spread of the disease.
This apart, wind spreads the fungal spores from plant to plant. The disease affects early flowering of rice crop by destroying the ovary.
The second stage of infection occurs when the spikelet nearly reaches maturity. False smut attack is normally seen from October to December during the emergence of panicle.
Siba Charan Pradhan, a farmer, said he had cultivated paddy in 10 acre of land. Most of his crop was damaged in cyclone Bulbul.
The plants which survived have been hit by the disease. “Due to lack of awareness, I failed to spray insecticides and fungicides on the crop. Now, I am staring at a huge loss,” he said.
Many farmers said different varieties of paddy, especially Swarna, Puja, Sarala and Basmati have been infected due to change in weather over the last few days. This might reduce the paddy yield by around 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Meanwhile, local farmers have urged the Agriculture officials to visit the affected paddy fields and assess the loss so that the Government provides compensation.
Chief District Agriculture Officer Rabi Narayan Mohapatra admitted that some varieties of paddy crop like Puja and Swarna have been affected. He stated that farmers had not done seed treatment properly. Many had not sprayed insecticides during flowering stage causing spread of the fungal disease, he added.