Hoshiarpur/Daljeet Ajnoha/May 14 : PAU-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hoshiarpur in collaboration with the Department of Plant Pathology, PAU Ludhiana recently organized a Farmer Scientist Interaction on management of dwarfing disease in paddy caused by Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus (SRBSDV) at KVK premises.
Dr. Prabhjodh Singh Sandhu, Additional Director of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana was the chief guest on this occasion while, Dr Amarjit Singh, Principal Extension Scientist (Plant Pathology) and Dr Mandeep Singh Hunjan, Principal Plant Bacteriologist, Department of Plant Pathology, PAU Ludhiana were present as technical experts.
Dr. Maninder Singh Bons, Associate Director (Training), KVK Hoshiarpur warmly welcomed the guests and the farmers and underlined the importance of timely efforts for creating awareness about the management of this disease. Dr. Bons elaborated on the role of judicious and balanced use of fertilizers, highlighting that proper nutrient management can also help in reducing insect-pest and disease incidence in paddy and basmati crops. He also emphasized on the utility of seed treatment in paddy and basmati in pest management context.
The experts delivered detailed lectures on the identification and spread of Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus in paddy fields. They emphasized that campaign-based management of its insect vector, White Backed Plant Hopper (WBPH), should be carried out in both paddy nurseries and transplanted fields to effectively check the spread of the disease. They also stressed on the avoidance of early sowing of paddy nursery and informed that the disease was observed on nearly all prevalent paddy varieties during previous year.
During the interaction, Dr. Prabhjodh Singh Sandhu, Additional Director of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana advised the farmers to break the life cycle of the infection-carrying WBPH through timely removal of weeds along water channels and field bunds, along with regular monitoring of WBPH population in paddy nurseries. He further emphasized that special attention is required in the kandi region, where the incidence of this problem was comparatively higher than other regions of Punjab during last year.
The participants were also provided PAU literature and the programme was deftly coordinated by Dr. Karmvir Singh Garcha, Assistant Professor (Vegetable Science) who facilitated fruitful discussion of the experts with the farmers.
