KARNAL, Haryana -Wheat crops in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are facing threat from a new race of yellow rust, which can damage the entire produce, unless farmers shift from the current wheat variety, DBW 343, a senior agricultural scientist said.
“This year we are feeling the heat of yellow rust and it is a warning that if farmers do not shift from DBW 343 to the disease resistant varieties like DBW 17 and DBW 550, soon it can become a real threat for the wheat crops,'' said Mr Jag Shoren, Proj ect Director (wheat), Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR).
Yellow rust is a fungal disease, which can completely destroy wheat and barley if it appears at early crop stage. The disease can be identified as yellow rust if the yellow spores appear and leave a powdery kind of residue when wiped. The DBW 343 variety , grown in about 60 lakh hectares spread across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Bihar, would be completely destroyed if farmers do not take urgent action, he said. – PTI
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