.

October 11, 2007
Source: The Daily Star [edited]
<http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=9349>

After successive floods that destroyed Aus paddy, pest attack and diseases are making Amon prospects bleak in greater Rangpur, frustrating farmers and worrying agriculture officials. Agriculture Extension Department (AED) officials in Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, and Gaibandha have detected diseases along with pest attack in Amon fields that may affect the crop, now in the flowering stage in most areas, our correspondents reported.

Rangpur
-------
Some farmers claimed that the diseases and pest attack may reduce the yield by 25-30 per cent. Agriculture officials, however, differ on the extent of damage. AED deputy director in Lalmonirhat, Aftab Uddin, said, "Transplanted Amon on 625 hectares (1544 acres) of land out of 100 000 hectares (247 105 acres) in the district is so far affected with 'sheet blight' and 'rot blight' diseases. This may decrease the yield by 2 to 5 per cent." Only BR-11 and Shawrna varieties of Amon are attacked by the diseases, he said. "BR-11 is an old variety and so its disease resistance capacity has decreased. Shawrna is an Indian variety not suitable to the climate of the region," he explained.

Farmer Abu Moktadir of Itapotha village in Mogholhat union in Lalmonirhat said, he used pesticide but is worried that he would not get even 30 to 40 per cent yield.

Rangpur AED deputy director, Shariful Alam, admitted 'sheet blight' and 'rot blight' diseases in Amon fields in 'some areas' but said the 'situation is now under control.' He said all agriculture officials have been deployed in fields to monitor the situation. "Deficiency of potash in lands in some areas in the district may affect Amon yield. Farmers use only urea but they need to use potash also," the AED official said.

Khondker Topakkharul Islam of Dahiganj in Rangpur Sadar upazila said farmers like him cannot afford to buy potash at high price now. He said most of the late-transplanted Amon plants are attacked by 'sheet blight'.
Chief scientific officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in Rangpur, Dr MA Mojid, identified 2 major causes for the diseases. Climate in the region is dry after floods, which is suitable for the diseases to grow.
Late planting may be another reason.

Nilphamari
----------
Widespread attack by 'brown plant hopper' in Amon fields in the district has caused serious concern among farmers. They said the BR-11 variety is more susceptible to the pest attack. About one fourth of BR-11 paddy fields have so far been attacked, they claimed. The worst affected unions are Panchapukur and Kachukata in Nilphamari Sadar upazila. In Dimla upazila, the affected unions are Balapara, Jhunagachh Chapani, Khalisha Chapani, Nautara, Purba Chhatnai, Paschim Chhatnai, and adjoining villages.

Mannan Fakir, a big farmer in Singdoi village in Sadar upazila said 'brown plant hopper', locally called 'current poka', suddenly attacks paddy fields in swarms, sucks the plants' fluid within a short time and turns them into yellowish straw. Ramzan Ali of Gayaban village in Dimla said paddy fields turn yellow after the attack. No ears of paddy come out from the plants.
Even animals do not eat affected paddy plants. The farmers said cold nights and heat during day time is favourable for breeding of these insects.
Usually, low-lying lands are more affected.

Member of Uttar Titpara Union Parishad in Dimla, Abul Hossen, said paddy on
7 bighas out of his 24 bighas have been damaged by pest attack. Fazlar Rahman of Modhya Haroa village in Sadar upazila said he sold his cow and bought Amon seedlings at a high price for his one bigha of land after the earlier crop was completely damaged by floods twice. But 'current poka' has damaged the field, now in the flowering stage. The farmers alleged that insecticides used by them are not effective against 'brown plant hopper'.

Pesticide trader Pijush Sarkar in Nilphamari town said farmers come to him in large numbers every day for pesticide to combat attacks by 'brown plant hopper'. He said Tido-20 SL and Mephsin are effective against the insects but should be used in appropriate doses.

Nilphamari AED deputy director, Eunus Ali, said, however, that farmers'
claims of a massive pest attack is not correct. "Amon on only 50-60 hectares (124-148 acres) have so far been attacked by brown plant hopper in the district. The attack has been effectively controlled," he claimed. A total of 115 135 hectares (284 505 acres) were brought under Amon cultivation in Nilphamari this year [2007] with a production target of 264
444 tonnes of rice, officials said.

Gaibandha
---------
About 20 per cent of Amon fields has so far been attacked by pests and diseases, according to a field survey by agriculture extension officials.
Normally, downpours after flood and disproportionate use of fertiliser are the main reasons for pest attack and disease, which need instant care for remedy, they said. Amon fields turned brown due to deficiency of potash, they said.

Farmers usually apply high dose of urea and lesser quantities of triple super phosphate (TSP), murate of potash (MP), and zinc sulphate. This creates an ideal situation for attack by diseases and pests, said Shahidur Rahman, sub-assistant agriculture officer in Gaibandha Sadar upazila.
According to AED, Amon was cultivated on 114 851 hectares (284 acres) in the district against a target of 127 447 hectares (315 acres) because of 2 floods.

The officials said, Amon on 397 hectares (981 acres) has been attacked by 'stem rot' disease, 145 hectares (358 acres) by 'leaf rot', 54 hectares
(133 acres) by 'stem blight,' and 40 hectares (99 acres) by 'brown plant hopper' insects in the district. "We have already controlled 90 per cent of the pest attack and stopped further attacks," said AED deputy director, Abdul Matin. Adequate measure have been taken to combat spread of diseases and pest attacks and an awareness campaign is going on urging farmers to contact local agriculture officials in case of any problem, he added.

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[The diseases referred to are sheath blight (called 'sheet blight' in this report) caused by the fungus _Thanatephorus cucumeris_ (previously _Rhizoctonia solani_; for further disease information see ProMED-mail post 20070718.2300), and stem rot caused by the fungus _Sclerotium oryzae_ (further information in ProMED-mail post 20070424.1340). The names 'rot blight', 'leaf rot,' and 'stem blight' are not commonly used for any rice diseases and it is not clear which problems are referred to here.

The Asian brown planthopper (_Nilaparvata lugens_) is one of the worst pests of rice in the Australasian and Pacific Island region. It is also the vector of _Rice grassy stunt virus_ (RGSV; genus _Tenuivirus_) and _Rice ragged stunt virus_ (RRSV; genus _Oryzavirus_). These viruses can cause serious yield losses and are spreading in large parts of the rice-growing areas of Asia. In tropical regions levels of infection and vector density are often very high. For more information see ProMED-mail post no.
20070611.1899.

Aman or amon rice is a term used in Bangladesh and east India for lowland rice grown in the wet season during June to November. BR-11 and Shawrna (or
Sharna) are varieties of Aman. Aus rice is a photoperiod-insensitive, rainfed, drought-prone, lowland or upland rice, broadcast and transplanted during the early part of the wet season from March to September in Bangladesh and from April to August in east India. A 3rd type used in the region is boro rice, an irrigated, high-yielding, cold-tolerant, relatively pest-free, and photoperiod-insensitive rice cultivated during the winter months in India and Bangladesh.

The bigha is a unit of measurement of area of land, commonly used in Nepal, Bangladesh, and in a few states of India. The size of a bigha may vary considerably depending on the region. In Bangladesh the bigha is equivalent to 0.1338 hectares (0.33 acres).

This report is an example of the different perceptions of the seriousness of agricultural problems by politicians and farmers. Without doubt, the farmers in the area are facing serious hardship.

Maps
Bangladesh:
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/bangladesh_pol96.jpg> and <http://healthmap.org/promed?v=23.8,90.3,5>
Districts and cities:
<http://www.mapsofworld.com/bangladesh/bangladesh-political-map.html>
Pictures
Sheath blight symptoms:
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/projectImages/image168.jpg>
Stem rot symptoms:
<http://www.msstate.edu/dept/drec/rice/stem_rot/stem_rot.htm>
Brown planthoppers:
<http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu/fulgor/nlugens.htm> and <http://www.dpvweb.net/dpv/showfig.php?dpvno=320&figno=03>
Links
Sheath blight disease information:
<http://www.ncipm.org.in/sheath%20blight.htm>
_T. cucumeris_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=306777>
Stem rot disease information:
<http://plantpathology.tamu.edu/Texlab/Grains/Rice/ricesr.html>
Description of all major diseases of rice via:
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/default.htm>
Common names of rice diseases and list of pathogens:
<http://www.apsnet.org/online/common/names/rice.asp>
_N. lugens_ taxonomy and distribution map:
<http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/abrs/fauna/details.pl?pstrVol=FULGOROIDEA;pstrTaxa=1909;pstrChecklistMode=2> 

RGSV disease information via:
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/default.htm>
RRSV disease information via:
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/default.htm>
Details of rice varieties:
<http://dacnet.nic.in/rice/Rice%20Varieties%20-%2008.htm>
Glossary of rice technical terms via:
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org>
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute:
<http://www.brribd.org>. - Mod.DHA]

[see also in the archive:
Sheath blight, rice - USA (MS) 20070718.2300 Virus disease, rice - Viet Nam 20070611.1899 Stem rot, rice - India (Godavari) 20070424.1340
2002
---
Stem rot, rice - Australia 20020826.5152]

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