Chandigarh, February 6
Alarmed at the presence of yellow rust in wheat in three districts, Punjab Agricultural University today asked wheat growers to take measures to protect their crop.
Yellow rust had turned into an epidemic in 2008-09 and caused a fall in the crop yield by 2 to 6 quintals per acre in the sub-mountainous areas of Punjab.
Yellow rust has been detected in Patti, Dher, Surewal, Fatehpur, Daula Taprian, Fatehgrah Viran, Rasidpur and Fasemund of Roopnagar district; Chhadhauri and Jagatpur villages in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar; and Baghpur and Pungha Blak villages in Hoshiarpur district, said TS Thind, Head, Department of Plant Pathology, PAU.
The disease has been detected despite Punjab taking several remedial measures, like replacing seed varieties highly susceptible to yellow rust.
Yellow rust is a fungal disease which attacks the leaves of the wheat plant forming yellow stripes and thereby affecting photosynthesis that causes shrivelling of the grain size.
Describing the current weather conditions conducive for the spread of the disease, farm scientists have advised farmers to apply recommended fungicides to control it.
The disease can be recognised from the elongated yellow powdery stripes on the lower leaves of the crop.
Last year, the disease had attacked wheat fields in Haryana.
Alarmed at the presence of yellow rust in wheat in three districts, Punjab Agricultural University today asked wheat growers to take measures to protect their crop.
Yellow rust had turned into an epidemic in 2008-09 and caused a fall in the crop yield by 2 to 6 quintals per acre in the sub-mountainous areas of Punjab.
Yellow rust has been detected in Patti, Dher, Surewal, Fatehpur, Daula Taprian, Fatehgrah Viran, Rasidpur and Fasemund of Roopnagar district; Chhadhauri and Jagatpur villages in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar; and Baghpur and Pungha Blak villages in Hoshiarpur district, said TS Thind, Head, Department of Plant Pathology, PAU.
The disease has been detected despite Punjab taking several remedial measures, like replacing seed varieties highly susceptible to yellow rust.
Yellow rust is a fungal disease which attacks the leaves of the wheat plant forming yellow stripes and thereby affecting photosynthesis that causes shrivelling of the grain size.
Describing the current weather conditions conducive for the spread of the disease, farm scientists have advised farmers to apply recommended fungicides to control it.
The disease can be recognised from the elongated yellow powdery stripes on the lower leaves of the crop.
Last year, the disease had attacked wheat fields in Haryana.
