The acreage of paddy crop infested by various types of pests and diseases in the State has almost tripled in a matter of just one week making farmers jittery. Authorities, however, say it is nothing to be alarmed about.
Paddy in nearly 1,00,485 acres was reported to be infested by various types of pests in a bulletin issued by the Agriculture Commissioner on October 9. However, standing crop in 2,72,665 acres got infested by October 15. Farmers who attributed the spreading of infestation to high humidity are perturbed because similar increase in infestation was not witnessed in groundnut or cotton.
On the contrary, the spread of infestation in these crops has been effectively checked.
The acreage of groundnut crop that was infested came down from 60,916.42 acres to 55,242.87 acres during the week. Similarly, the acreage of cotton crop that was infested remained the same at 31,500 acres in the period.
There has also been an increase in the types of diseases that have infested paddy over the week. According to the Agriculture Department, stem borer, leaf folder, rice blast, BPH (Brown Plant Hopper), and Sheath Blight were recorded as the pests and diseases that infested standing paddy crop on October 9. But in the more recent bulletin BLB (Bacterial Leaf Blight), Rice Hispa (beetle) and Leaf Mite have been added to the list along with the infestations recorded earlier. Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Mission vice-chairman M.V.S. Nagireddy told The Hindu that this was the season for pests and the infestation was more because of the humid climate. He asked farmers not to get alarmed, but to be alert and follow the Department’s guidelines for pest control.
