Nageshwari paddy farmers worried about outbreak of sheath blight disease

NAGESHARI, KURIGRAM, Oct 23: An attack of sheath blight or sheath burn disease has been observed in Aman paddy fields in several plots in Nageshwari Upazila of the district. 

The outbreak of this disease at the panicle initiation stage may reduce the yield of affected land substantially. Farmers are worried.

The Agriculture Office said that this time a target was set to cultivate transplanted Aman on 24,660 hectares of land in the upazila. In contrast, farmers have cultivated transplanted Aman paddy on 24,665 hectares of land, which is 5 hectares more than the target. If the environment remains favourable, a total of 78,239 metric tons (mt) of rice (in rice form) can be produced from the transplanted Aman fields at an average of 3.20 mt per hectare.

Moreover, in an effort to convert the two-crop lands of this area into three-crop lands, farmers have cultivated early varieties of paddy on 3,685 hectares of land. The rice ears are now swaying in the wind in those fields. In a few days, they will be stored in the farmers' granaries. Special success is expected from this, which will make it possible to observe the tradition of Nabanna in Agrahayan.

The transplanted Aman paddy fields are somewhat behind the early varieties. In some of them, the panicle has emerged, while in some fields the ears have come out. In most of the fields in almost all unions of the upazila where the time for panicle initiation has arrived, the sheath blight or sheath burn disease caused by fungal attack has appeared. Irregular grey or blackish spots appear on the leaf sheath, and the entire sheath slowly rots away. 

Much the same situation prevails for marginal farmers Hamidul Haque, Shahidul Islam, Liton Ahmed and many other farmers in various areas of that locality. They said that the attack of this disease at the last moment is about to dash their dreams. In this situation, they see darkness before their eyes.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Ariful Islam said that when this disease appears, the application of urea fertiliser in the field must be stopped and the use of potash fertiliser increased. That time has now passed. In this case, if the attack is severe, farmers are being advised to consult the sub-assistant agriculture officers working at the field level and spray fungicides of the Azoxystrobin and Difenoconazole groups at approved doses in the afternoon on the affected land.