Friday, November 30, 2012

Fungal disease damages hectares of tomato crop in Uttarakhand

Haldwani, (Uttarakhand), Nov. 30 (ANI): Tomato growers in Uttarakhand may incur a huge loss, as a mysterious fungal disease has damaged about 250 hectares of crop in Haldwani district of the state.

Local farmers said that they had sprayed the pesticides but the disease could not be controlled.

“Initially when we found some diseased crops, we sprayed insecticides, but later disease spread to the whole field, which has damaged a major area of the crop. If the disease is not controlled, then we will incur huge losses as more than half of the crop will be damaged,” said R K Pandey, a local tomato grower.

The disease has attacked the plants as the fruits have developed small black spots and the leaves have withered. The heavily infected leaves have also turned black.

However, Horticulture Officer, in Haldwani, P C Kandpal said that if the right pesticides are used on time, the damage could be controlled.

“20 percent of the total crop has been damaged so far. But if it is controlled on time, then the new flowers that are blooming could be saved and the loss could be recovered,” he said.

The farmers are hoping that the government will take adequate steps to prevent the disease from spreading further. (ANI)

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