Agri Dept to launch drive against wheat virus

Sunday, February 15, 2009

By Jawwad Rizvi

LAHORETHE Punjab Agriculture Department has issued instructions to filed officers of irrigated districts of the province to start campaign against ‘Aphid’ attack on wheat crop. According to experts, punitive measures are crucial to protect wheat crop from Aphid virus at this stage. Wheat crop has now in the phase where the plant is prone to the attack of aphid due to intermittent temperatures. A letter issued by Director General Agriculture (Extension) Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali to all district officers stated that Aphid damage was reported in previous year in Punjab. The Punjab Agriculture Department has made a comprehensive plan to avert loses from this particular virus attack, it said. The department had adopted biological and physical control such as sowing of brassica lines in wheat as part of the pre-emptive measures adopted for the purpose.The letter said the appearance of this pest had been reported and its population may increase in coming days and it was the right time to go for the second phase of the strategy to put Chrysoperla Cards in wheat to maximise the population of this friendly pest. Therefore, the department had advised the officers of Irrigated Districts of the province to place their demand with the laboratories of the department to install the cards for keeping the aphid population below threshold level. The Chrysoperla rearing facilities are available at six places in the Punjab and Vehari laboratory of the department would help Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Lodhran and Layyah districts to maximize the population of Chrysoperla (Aphid Lion) in accordance with the plan approved by the agriculture secretary.Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakpattan and Vehari districts would be taken care of by Pakpattan laboratory, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang and Bhakkar by TT Singh laboratory, Okara, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Lahore, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad by Sahiwal Laboratory and Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Narowal and Sialkot by Okara while Khushab, Sargodha, Mianwali and Gujrat districts would be taken care of by Faisalabad installation of the agriculture department.The letter advised that since gram and other winter vegetables were also in fields and it was feared that problem of Helicoverpa may cause damage to these crops and may shift to cotton as well, so the districts having area under gram and vegetable may also install Trichogramma Cards.