January 6, 2012

 

Yellow rust disease hits Indian wheat

 

 

The yellow rust fungal disease that has hit wheat crop in two pockets of the breadbasket northern region of India has been controlled right away and is unlikely to affect the whole harvest, a senior government official said Thursday (Jan 5).

 

Farmers have been advised to monitor their crops closely and frequently as the disease is airborne and, if left unchecked, has the potential to spread quickly from a small area. Wheat is the most important winter-sown grain staple in India.

 

India is betting on a repeat of last year's record wheat crop of around 86 million tonnes this year to shore up government stocks, pivotal to the rollout of a nationwide food security programme expected this year.

 

"Stripe or yellow rust [disease] has started appearing [on the wheat crop] in Una district of Himachal Pradesh and Ropar district of Punjab. Farmers have been advised to visit the crop frequently to spray fungicide," said Indu Sharma, director of the Directorate of Wheat Research. "We have come to know very quickly. I don't think there will be any [significant] losses due to the disease," she said.

 

While weather conditions are largely favorable due to cold weather over key growing regions in northern India, government officials are working overtime to make sure farmers don't underplay the disease threat.

 

"We have also advised farmers not to sow susceptible varieties," she added.

 

Sowing of wheat this season has already begun and picked up since mid-November. It is expected to finish by the middle of January.

 

The disease has manifested in those farmers' crops who ignored scientists' advice of a 20-day gap from the previous crop and started sowing at the end of October, Sharma said.

 

Harvest of the crop usually begins in end-March or early April. The total area under wheat crop so far is about 100,000 hectares less than the same period a year ago.

 

So far, the crop is in good shape though foggy conditions in the northern states of Haryana and Punjab have reduced availability of light that is important for the plant's nourishment.

 

However, Sharma said that foggy weather affects the crop only if it prolongs for 20-25 days. "By and large, we can't say there will be any negative impact on the crop because of the fog," she added.