The PAU-Farm Advisory Service Centre (FASC), Gurdaspur, in collaboration with the Department of Plant Pathology, PAU Ludhiana, organized an awareness camp on June 21, 2024, at Village Chib to educate farmers on the effective management of foot rot disease in Basmati rice. A total of 68 farmers participated in the programme.
Sh. Rajinder Singh Bal, DES (Plant Pathology) at FASC Gurdaspur, welcomed the scientists and farmers, emphasizing the importance of active participation for success of the programme.
Dr. Amarjit Singh, Principal Extension Scientist from the Department of Plant Pathology, PAU Ludhiana, discussed the symptoms, spread, and survival of foot rot disease in Basmati. He highlighted that the disease is primarily seed-borne, urging farmers to use disease-free seeds to raise healthy nurseries. He recommended treating seeds with fungicide Sprint 75WS @3g per kg or biocontrol agent Trichoderma formulation @15g per kg before sowing. Additionally, he demonstrated the method for treating nursery seedling roots with Trichoderma before transplanting and advised against early transplanting due to higher disease incidence at elevated temperatures.
Dr. Mandeep Singh Hunjan, Principal Plant Bacteriologist from the Department of Plant Pathology, PAU Ludhiana, covered the symptoms of rice stunting disease, a viral disease spread by plant hoppers. He advised vigilance and the use of recommended insecticides to control hopper populations. He also discussed managing red rot disease in sugarcane and the influence of weather on plant diseases, encouraging farmers to utilize weather forecasts for farm operations.
Sh. Rajinder Singh Bal further elaborated on the damage symptoms and management practices for controlling major insect pests in rice. He stressed the need for targeted application of recommended pesticides and encouraged farmers to produce their own seeds.
The camp concluded with distributing fungicide Sprint 75WS and bio control agent Trichoderma for demonstration purposes. An interactive session followed, where farmers raised queries about other diseases like blast and sheath blight of rice. Progressive farmer and village sarpanch, Sh. Surinder Singh urged farmers to take full advantage of such programmes and motivated them to discuss various issues.
Read more: https://www.pau.edu/index.php?_act=manageEvent&DO=viewEventDetail&dataE=datae&intID=9226
