B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Post heavy rain, leaf folder bugs paddy
Faridkot, September 6
After heavy rain flooded their fields and excessive use of nitrogen made the growth of paddy crop more vegetative in the last two weeks, farmers are a worried lot these days. Sultry weather conditions have fanned their fears about the attack of ‘leaf folder’, a bug.

Barnala shopkeepers observe bandh in response to VHP call
Barnala, September 6
Shopkeepers today observed bandh in different parts of the city in response to a bandh call given by some organisations in protest against publication of some objectionable material against Hindu deities in a Punjabi newspaper, publishing from Bagha Purana.

Irrigation official killed in mishap
Abohar, September 6
A Sub-Divisional Engineer of the Irrigation Department was crushed to death by a truck on Abohar-Muktsar road today. Naresh Kumar Sikri along with JE Jeet Ram was returning after visiting areas affected by drain water in Muktsar district.

Post heavy rain, leaf folder bugs paddy
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, September 6
After heavy rain flooded their fields and excessive use of nitrogen made the growth of paddy crop more vegetative in the last two weeks, farmers are a worried lot these days. Sultry weather conditions have fanned their fears about the attack of ‘leaf folder’, a bug.

To get rid of the bug, farmers in Bir Sikhan Wala and Kameana area of Faridkot are resorting to indiscriminate spraying of insecticides and chemicals. Since use of pesticides recommended by the Agriculture Department and the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) are not making any visible impact on the rice leaf folder, cnaphalocrosis medinalis, many farmers are turning to a cocktail of synthetic insecticides and chemicals.

Leaf folder is capable of defoliating or removing the chlorophyll content of leaves, which leads to a considerable reduction in the yield.

Chief Agriculture Officer Sukhwant Singh said there was no need to panic as the bug has thrived only on some late-sown ‘basmati’ fields due to the prevailing humid weather.

Experts in the Agriculture Department said high use of nitrogen (urea) followed by heavy rain was the main reason for the attack of the leaf folder.

With heavy rainfall, farmers used more urea than what the PAU and the Agriculture Department had recommended. It resulted in high vegetative growth of paddy plants, inviting the leaf folder bug.

Now, as the general insecticides and chemicals are failing to control the bug, panicked farmers are resorting to highly dangerous cocktail of synthetic insecticides, said Paramjit Singh, a farmer of Kameana village in Faridkot.

Besides chemicals, farmers should avoid excessive use of nitrogen, the experts advise.

Moreover, excessive use of urea in a submerged rice field leaches into the groundwater. While the high dose of urea is less beneficial to the crop, it adds to the nitrate content in the groundwater. A study of the Green Peace India in some parts of the area revealed that against the recommended dose of about 100 kg of nitrogen per acre, many farmers were using it in the range of 250-300 kg.

Barnala shopkeepers observe bandh in response to VHP call
Tribune News Service

Barnala, September 6
Shopkeepers today observed bandh in different parts of the city in response to a bandh call given by some organisations in protest against publication of some objectionable material against Hindu deities in a Punjabi newspaper, publishing from Bagha Purana.

According to information, the bandh remained near complete in some areas while it evoked a partial response in a few areas. Activists of the Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Sanatan Jagran Manch and the BJP also held a protest against the writer of the alleged objectionable material and editor of the newspaper.

District convener of Bajrang Dal Neelmani said Vijay Goyal, head of dharam parchar wing of the VHP, had filed a complaint with the Barnala city police for registering a case against the writer, Inder Singh Ghagga, for hurting religious sentiments of the community. He said the bandh was complete in all markets of the city. On the complaint of the VHP leader the police had registered a case against Ghagga under Section 295-A of the IPC, the police said.

Irrigation official killed in mishap

Abohar, September 6
A Sub-Divisional Engineer of the Irrigation Department was crushed to death by a truck on Abohar-Muktsar road today. Naresh Kumar Sikri along with JE Jeet Ram was returning after visiting areas affected by drain water in Muktsar district.

They stopped at Panniwala for a cup of tea. Sikri was standing near his car parked on the roadside when a truck reportedly hit him. He was taken to the Civil Hospital here but doctors declared him brought dead. — OC