Paddy yield in 6 Punjab districts may drop by 10% due to dwarf disease

Ravi Dhaliwal

Gurdaspur/Pathankot, Sept 18

The paddy yield in at least six districts of Punjab is likely to see a 10 to 15 per cent drop with a Chinese virus, commonly known as the dwarf disease, infecting the crop, resulting in its stunted growth.

Girdawari ordered

Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Patiala and Ludhiana districts are the worst hit by the Chinese virus. Its origin has been traced to Wuhan, where Covid-19 originated. The state has ordered a girdawari

Experts claim the origin of the virus has been traced to Wuhan in China, where the SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19 is said to have originated.

While about one-fifth of the total area under paddy in Pathankot has been affected, the impact is comparatively less in the neighbouring Gurdaspur district. The other districts where the impact is being seen are Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Patiala and Ludhiana. Dr Amrik Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Pathankot, said some plants had died while some were witnessing a stunted growth. The technical name of the virus was southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus.

He said, “There is no remedy available as yet. The claim that early sowing is behind the stunted growth does not hold much water. Paddy was sown in Punjab from June 10-30, while in Himachal, it was sown in May. There is no report of any disease affecting the crop in the hill state. This virus first originated in 2001 in Wuhan.” On how the virus travelled from China, Dr Singh reasoned, “The long distance transmission of the virus happens due to strong convection winds. Such types of winds transport heat and moisture usually from a warmer area to a cooler one. The other reason is environmental changes.”

While PAU experts are still trying to decode the virus, debt-ridden farmers are staring at losses as the disease is set to hit the yield. The state government has, meanwhile, ordered a girdawari to know the extent of damage.