Blight affects tomato crop on 350 acres

Amritsar, April 1

The early sown tomato crop has been affected due to the blight disease. In the Majitha block, over 350 acres of crop has been damaged.

Tajinder Singh, Deputy Director, Horticulture, visited the Hamja village of Majitha block to take stock of the damage. On the occasion, farmers claimed that about 350 acres of tomato crop has been cultivated in Hamja, Athwal, Kotla Sultan and other nearby villages, which has been damaged by the disease.

After inspecting the fields the Deputy Director Horticulture said owing to the unusual change in weather, the disease is increasing due to the silt of the land.

He said farmers have also sprayed chemicals on time to control the disease but due to the prevailing weather conditions, bit it had not been of much help. Expert asked the farmers to treat the seeds with fungicides to avoid any fungal diseases at later stage.

The horticulture official also asked the farmers to form self help groups to market their crop in a better way. He said the vermin compost of fruit and vegetable waste at homes can also be used to provide nutrient to the vegetable plants at kitchen gardens.