Agriculture: the curious case of 'Rice Dwarfism' in Punjab and Haryana

Over the past fortnight or more, many farmers in Punjab, Haryana and even westen UP and Uttarakhand have complained of an un dwarfing disease of paddy, an unusual development , which is hampering growth of rice crops.

Many farmers are reporting stunting or dwarfing of plants, typically taking place after 30-35 days after transplanting or direct seeding of rice.

The process of rice plantation started with seeding saw all plants registering a uniform growth. But gradually some stopped growing while others continue to grow.

The Indian Express reported that the proportion of dwarfed plants has been generally reported at 10-25% even exceeding 40% in some cases.

Agricultural scientists initially attributed it to the zinc deficiency, but later noted that mystery cause behind dwarfing is the brown plant hopper, an inspect pest that sucks sap from the stems and leaves of rice plants.

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Preliminary findings indicate 'phytoreovirus' or rice grassy stunt virus as the infection source. The scientists stated that the virus induced stunting and ellowing of rice plants, transmitted by brown plant hopper.

The concern is that the infected plants remain stunted even after application of recommended dose of fertiliser, as per Indian Agricultural Institute (IARI) .

The experts have also not ruled out fusarium fungus and rice root nematode for the recent cases of dwarfism in paddy.

Another possible source of infection is phytoplasm,a bacterial pathogen spreal by brown plant hopper and green leaf hopper sucking insect pests.

Meanwhile, the Union Agriculture Ministry has formed a 8-member team to conducte a field assessent of the affecte crop regions in Punjab and Haryana.

An Indian Express report quoting farmers stated that transplanted 'PR-121- and 'PR-113' paddy varieties saw even growth in the first 30-35 days but stopped after that. While another lot of rice plants continued to grow. About 40 per cent plants, in PR-113 fields didn't grow at all after 35 days.