Champaran: Farmers who were already troubled by less rainfall this year are now facing another big problem. In many areas, paddy crops are being attacked by insects and diseases. Brown plant hoppers, stem borer insects, Hispa beetles and Galka disease have started spreading quickly in the fields. Experts fear that this could seriously reduce the yield of the harvest.
The brown plant hopper is sucking the juice from paddy stems, while Galka disease is burning the leaves and stems. Farmers say their paddy leaves are turning red, drying up, and in many places the plants have stopped growing and started rotting. “We are spraying insecticides but the effect is very limited. Our efforts are failing,” said farmers like Chuman Singh, Alok Kumar and Mahendra Mahato. After some rainfall in Bhado, the crops had looked healthy again, but the sudden spread of insects has now made the situation worse. Hundreds of acres of land are affected.
Block Agriculture Officer Prabhat Kumar said farmers are reaching out to his office daily with complaints about pests and blight disease. He explained that Galka, also known as blight, can reduce production by 50 to 60%. The disease usually spreads when too much grass grows on ridges or when paddy is planted too densely. He advised farmers to use urea in balanced amounts and not to overcrowd their fields.
Experts have also suggested specific preventive measures. For blight disease, they recommend spraying Propiconazole 25 EC or Hexaconazole 5 EC mixed with 500 litres of water per hectare. For stem borer pests, Fipronil 05 EC or Cartap Hydrochloride 50 SP can be sprayed without harming the crop. Farmers say they are trying these methods but are worried about losing a large part of their harvest if the infestation continues. With the main paddy season approaching, many fear their incomes will be badly hit.
