LUDHIANA, Nov 8: Agricultural scientists differ as paddy crop suffers damage in Punjab. The scientists have varied opinions about the exact nature of the disease that has afflicted the paddy crop in several districts of Punjab. While the scientists at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Manila, Philippines, suspect it to be 'rice tungro virus' (RTV), experts at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) think it is not.Dr Jaswant Singh, senior entomologist (rice) at PAU, said,''Although the symptoms of the disease are somewhat like that of tungro yet the fact that a viral disease always spreads like an epidemic and does not stay confined to a particular area or region for long, does not support the assessment of the scientists''.A survey conducted by the Directrorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage, New Delhi, in September, revealed that paddy sown in about 42,000 hactares in the districts of Amritser and Gurdaspur has been damaged by this ''mysterious disease.'' Significantly, out of the 2.95 lakh hactares under paddy in Amritser, only 12,000 hactares have benn struck by the disease while in Gurdaspur district, 30,000 hactares out of the 1.91 lakh hactares are the worst-hit.The directorate concluded that the disease had not been caused by any soil problem nor it was a fungal or bacterial disease. Dr Jaswant Singh who was a member of directrorate team which conducted the survey, told ENS today that though certain elements of the viral disease were present, its spread and the seasonal variations did not coincide with the symptoms of RTV.To identify the mysterious disease, rice experts from IRRI visited the damaged areas and took samples of diseased plants with them to Manila. But no report has been received from them so far. Since the disease is yet to be identified, experts are not in a position to suggest any remedy or cure. But to prevent its further spread, the scientists have suggested not to use those varieties of rice which have been found to be infected.Dr K. S. Aulakh, Director, Research, PAU, said that due to the lack of identification of the disease, agricultural scientists all over the country had varied opinions. From now onwards, PAU would conduct the ''transmission test'' done to identity diseases.According to PAU experts, besides the ''mysterious dIsease'' the rice crop has been damaged by a serious attack of white plant hopper and brown plant hopper in some districts. Experts said that as the affected plants dried up, hoppers migrated to the adjoining plants and the severely affected plants should be pulled out leaving the roots in the soil.
