BARGARH: A day after farmer Brunda Sahu of Kalapani village in the district allegedly committed suicide after consuming poison because of crop loss due to infestation of brown plant hopper, a three-member team of Agriculture department visited Bargarh on Thursday to ascertain the ground realities surrounding the apparent pest attack.
The team, comprising Director (Quality Control), Agriculture department Pramod Kumar Mohanty, Plant Protection Officer Sachidananda Panda and Agronomist, Basant Kumar Patnaik, visited the pesticide shops in Bargarh town and collected samples of pesticides, used by the farmers of the district to control brown plant hopper in their paddy fields.
“The objective of the visit is to probe the allegation raised by the farmers that the pesticide they are using to control brown plant hopper is ineffective. The samples will be sent to the laboratory for tests,” said Mohanty, suggesting that the farmers should drain out water from the fields.
The officer also urged farmers to make alleys with a spacing of three feet in east-west direction so that the saplings get proper sunlight. “Quality pesticide should be used. Farmers should avoid using nitrogen-based fertiliser which helps in growth of brown plant hopper. In some areas, the farmers are using pesticides without consulting the agriculture officials,” Mohanty added.
“The team will visit the command area of the district. They will also give suggestion to the farmers on the measures to be taken to check brown plant hoppers. The agriculture and revenue departments have already started investigation into the impact of brown plant hoppers in the district. The district administration will submit the report to the State Government as early as possible.This apart, they have formed a district-level squad comprising revenue and agriculture officials besides police to conduct raid on pesticide shops and stringent action will be taken against the traders selling fake pesticides,” Collector, Bargarh, Khagendra Padhi said.The team left for Bheden after collecting the pesticide samples from Bargarh town. Later, it is also scheduled to visit Attabira .