Pink stem borer hits wheat crop; Punjab farmers blame residue ploughing

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, December 18

A few farmers in the state who had used Super Seeder for wheat sowing are complaining of pink stem borer infestation in the crop. The pest attack has been detected in the fields around Muktsar, Lehragaga and Sangrur.

Listing their grievances, the farmers complain that the government does not allow them to burn residue, but nobody understands the after-effects of not burning stubble. Farmers rue that leftover residue prevents the spray from reaching the crop and it becomes the breeding ground for the pink stem borer. The leftover eggs of the insect in the residue have become a major cause of concern for them.

Farmer Gobinder Singh’s wheat crop in 18 acres has been infested. Hailing from Sangatpura village in Lehragaga, Gobinder said that this was for the first time that he resisted from burning crop residue as strict guidelines were issued by the government and this was the price he had to pay.

Another affected farmer from Muktsar said that farmers were forced to plough the crop residue in the fields, but no solution was given to avoid a situation like this. “We were portrayed as criminals and FIRs were registered against us for burning residue, but now nobody is there to tackle the problem,” he said.

A team of scientists from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has also visited the affected fields at Balamgarh village in Muktsar district.

Dr MS Bhullar, Director, Extension Education, PAU, while explaining the situation said that the problem of this insect occurred when farmers went in for early sowing. “This is the pest of the rice crop and is carried over to the wheat crop. Once the temperature becomes little cooler it will go into hibernation and the good news is that rain is expected on December 22-23. After the rain it will go into hibernation till January and will become active only after the temperature rises and till then the wheat crop will mature,” he maintained.

Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor of PAU, has asked the farmers to be vigilant without panicking. “Monitor the fields continuously to effectively address the incidence of pink stem borer and other potential pests,” he said.

Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of Research at PAU, while providing recommendations to manage the pink stem borer menace said that farmers were advised to consider the application of either 1.2 kg of chlorpyriphos 20 EC (Dursban) or 7 kg of fipronil 0.3G (Mortal/Regent) mixed with 20 EC of moist sand before irrigation. If irrigation had been done, a foliar application of 50 gm of chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC (Coragen) in 80-100 litres of water was suggested as an effective recourse.