Nagina, Bijnor : Sugarcane farmers were urged on Tuesday to switch to new varieties to combat red rot disease, a devastating pest that is causing widespread crop losses, reported Amar Ujala.
The call came at a farmers’ meeting in the village of Rampurdas alias Patpada, organized by the Bundki-Nagaina Sugarcane Development Council.
Speaking at the meeting, senior sugarcane development inspector Avinash Chandra Tiwari said that red rot disease, also known as sugarcane cancer, is hurting sugarcane yields. He urged farmers to switch to improved varieties such as 0118, 13235, 14201, 13231, 17231, 98014, and 15023.
Tiwari said that farmers should treat sugarcane seeds with fungicides before planting and use Trichoderma to treat the soil. He said that the sugarcane development council will provide farmers with seeds of these varieties on demand.
The call to switch to new sugarcane varieties comes as the country is facing a severe outbreak of red rot disease. The disease has spread to over 10 states, affecting an estimated 2 million hectares of sugarcane crop.
Red rot disease is caused by a fungus that attacks the sugarcane root system. It can cause the crop to wilt and die, leading to significant yield losses.
