Strange pest threatening paddy cultivation

By Hiran P Jayasinghe

Paddy cultivation in Mailankulama and Monarawewa in Vanativillu coming under the Tabbowa wewa scheme is threatened with a pest and chances of a good harvest are said to be bleak according to farmers in the region. The seed paddy belonging to the BG 358 variety issued by the Wanativillu agrarian service centre is a samba variety that is being threatened with the pest, according to farmers.

A farmer holding up an affected paddy plant.

A 400 acre area in Monarawewa and Mailankulama is under threat from this pest and farmers are unable to identify the disease. Their efforts to obtain advice from the Wanativillu agrarian centre have failed and they had sought advice from the Puttalam agriculture office, taking with them samples of the threatened paddy plants. Though they were told that officials would visit the fields to identify the pest, farmers complain that so far no such visit has materialised.

The farmers have, therefore, resorted to using various chemicals on the advice of traders to destroy the pests. M K Gunathileke Banda (43) said he had not seen to date a pest of this kind and complained that when advice was sought from the agrarian service centre from where the seed paddy was obtained on a loan with assurance to pay back at harvest, no advice was offered.

He said he had spent nearly Rs. 30,000 on a two acre cultivation and another Rs. 15,000 on chemicals to fight the pest. His problem is how to pay back the loans.

When Agriculture Deputy Director H M Sirimevan of the Puttalam office was contacted on the issue, he said that when an officer had gone to inspect the paddy fields, and even brought some plant samples for testing it is malicious to say they are non co-operative.