The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Strange disease in cotton crop worries farmer

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Monday, Sep 01, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Strange disease in cotton crop worries farmer

S. Harpal Singh

‘The square gets dried up and new leaves shrink’

Ramesh displaying the diseased tender parts of cotton plants

MANNUR (ADILABAD DT.): Cotton farmer Kallewad Ramesh is aghast over an inexplicable phenomenon that is destroying the tender parts of his 90-day-old plants thereby threatening to destroy the entire crop.

He noticed the occurrence of the ‘strange’ disease in his Bt cotton crop about 8 days back and has since unsuccessfully tried to control its spread.

“The disease is playing havoc with the plant right when it is in boll formation time. The square gets dried up and the new leaves get shrunken for no apparent reason. This is the case with all the plants in my field,” explains Ramesh.

Endemic

The spread of the disease being endemic to his 13 acre plot, agriculture scientists suspect the soil to be the cause of the problem.

It may be deficiency of micro nutrients in the soil that has resulted in the dried up squares and excessive use of pesticides that caused new leaves to shrink, opines T. Pradeep, principal scientist and Head of the Agriculture Research Station (ARS), Adilabad.

“There is no mystery about drying up of the cotton square. It occurs due to deficiency of micronutrients in the soil.

For the other part it could be because the farmer must have unwittingly sprayed chemicals to contain the spread of sucking pest.

Unaware

Farmers are not aware the effects of many of the new varieties of pesticides and hence there is a tendency to spray a bit more of the chemical,” says Dr. Pradeep, who also visited the field of farmer Ramesh.

Denies excessive use

Ramesh however, denies any excessive use of chemicals. He maintains that the chemical pesticides were sprayed in the manner and proportion as specified.

Exhaustive crop

The farmer had cultivated maize in this plot of land prior to the cotton. Maize is known to be an exhaustive crop and correction of micronutrients is needed at present.

“We have suggested the farmer apply Boron in order to finish off the suspected phototoxic effect of the pesticides.

The situation does not seem to be beyond salvage as of now. It is likely to improve within 15 days,” hopes Dr. Pradeep.

Farmers disagree

Meanwhile, other farmers in Mannur village do not seem to be in agreement with the micronutrient deficiency theory. They point out that cultivation of cotton after the maize crop has been in vogue since quite a few years now.

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