Plantain crop hit by fungal disease due to unusual mist

TIRUCHY: The untimely rains and unusual mist formation resulted in spread of fungal disease in plantain crop. Banana plantations on several acres were affected across the Delta due to the fungal infestation.

According to farmers, banana have widely been cultivated across the region on par with paddy. However, recently, the region has witnessed an unexpected mist condition leading to fungal disease. The plantations initially sustain black leaf streak disease that spreads across the tree and gradually the leaves would wilt.

Though agriculture officials had advised to use a few anti-fungal solutions to prevent the disease, farmers claimed that several trees in the region had sustained the disease in an advance level and they fear that total damage could be the result. So, they appealed to the government to conduct an assessment and provide some relief to the farmers.

“Due to this disease, against the actual 15 leaves in grownup trees, only six are available and other leaves wither away. This results in poor yield and in some trees, the bunches would get destroyed leading to a heavy loss to the farmers who undertake plantain cultivation,” said Mathiazhagan, Thanjavur district president of Banana Farmers Association.

He said that, despite the fungal infection being quite common in banana crops, the unusual mist had aggravated the infection resulting into a total loss of the trees. He also said that the farmers have passed on the information to the Banana Research Centre for a study and are waiting for a remedy from them.