ANUPA RAI
GANGTOK, 27 Nov: The Spices Board recently prepared a report on the “Management of Colletotrichum blight of large cardamom” which looks at the disease that has led to decline in large cardamom production in Sikkim.
“Blight disease that affects large cardamom is one of the major reasons for production decline at present,” states the report and informs that the disease is present in varying degrees at all locations of cultivation.
As per the report, the disease is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides.
Scientist Dr. AK Saju of the Research Wing of Spices Board, Gangtok, informs that the scientists have adopted two types of measures to fight the disease, both applied at the nursery level.
Use of Copper Oxichloride is one way to prevent the spread of the disease, but since it has to be sometimes imported from other states the farmers do not find it convenient.
The second, Dr. Saju informs, is by adoption of Bio-control agents, which are prepared in the laboratory here and distributed to farmers.
He informs that the adoption of these measures have helped in the control of the disease to some extent. After scientists started to adopt these measures, there has been an improvement in the plant health at the nursery level, it is learnt. The plants earlier, suffered damage up to 20%, but now, with this treatment, the damage has been brought down to 3%, informs Dr. Saju.
This scheme has been extended to 4,813 beneficiaries with a total coverage of 4,07,425 units across the State by Spices Board’s research wing. Between them, they produced 4.23 crore suckers earning a collective financial benefit of Rs. 4.68 crores. This Certified Sucker Nursery scheme has been underway 2007-08. It had started with 644 units covering 615 farmers.
However, when the same idea was adopted for the plants on the field, the result was not up to the mark. Since there are no other alternatives at present, scientists are left with no choice but to continue with it.
The plants usually show symptoms of the disease during the pre-monsoon showers between March to May and it progresses rapidly during the rainy season. The fungus basically attacks the leaves and the seeds are rendered whitish and immature.
The Spices Board is still working on measures to save plants on the fields. Dr. Saju further informs that the reasons for decline of production on the field can vary.
One of the basic factors for the deterioration of plant health on the fields is the quality of soil, it is believed. In the Sikkim and Darjeeling hills, soil has started experiencing micro-nutrient deficiency, an essential element for disease resistance, highlighted Dr. Saju.
Another factor is the lack of micro-climate, which means providing sheds to at least 50% of the cardamom bushes in the fields. These sheds can be in the form of tree sheds as well. The Spices Board is hence considering working on providing artificial sheds.
Since the scientists started the medication just about a year ago, its effectiveness in large scale production remains to be seen.
It was also informed that scientists have identified three varieties of large cardamom which seem to be significantly more tolerant to diseases than the other varieties and research work on them is currently in progress.
GANGTOK, 27 Nov: The Spices Board recently prepared a report on the “Management of Colletotrichum blight of large cardamom” which looks at the disease that has led to decline in large cardamom production in Sikkim.
“Blight disease that affects large cardamom is one of the major reasons for production decline at present,” states the report and informs that the disease is present in varying degrees at all locations of cultivation.
As per the report, the disease is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides.
Scientist Dr. AK Saju of the Research Wing of Spices Board, Gangtok, informs that the scientists have adopted two types of measures to fight the disease, both applied at the nursery level.
Use of Copper Oxichloride is one way to prevent the spread of the disease, but since it has to be sometimes imported from other states the farmers do not find it convenient.
The second, Dr. Saju informs, is by adoption of Bio-control agents, which are prepared in the laboratory here and distributed to farmers.
He informs that the adoption of these measures have helped in the control of the disease to some extent. After scientists started to adopt these measures, there has been an improvement in the plant health at the nursery level, it is learnt. The plants earlier, suffered damage up to 20%, but now, with this treatment, the damage has been brought down to 3%, informs Dr. Saju.
This scheme has been extended to 4,813 beneficiaries with a total coverage of 4,07,425 units across the State by Spices Board’s research wing. Between them, they produced 4.23 crore suckers earning a collective financial benefit of Rs. 4.68 crores. This Certified Sucker Nursery scheme has been underway 2007-08. It had started with 644 units covering 615 farmers.
However, when the same idea was adopted for the plants on the field, the result was not up to the mark. Since there are no other alternatives at present, scientists are left with no choice but to continue with it.
The plants usually show symptoms of the disease during the pre-monsoon showers between March to May and it progresses rapidly during the rainy season. The fungus basically attacks the leaves and the seeds are rendered whitish and immature.
The Spices Board is still working on measures to save plants on the fields. Dr. Saju further informs that the reasons for decline of production on the field can vary.
One of the basic factors for the deterioration of plant health on the fields is the quality of soil, it is believed. In the Sikkim and Darjeeling hills, soil has started experiencing micro-nutrient deficiency, an essential element for disease resistance, highlighted Dr. Saju.
Another factor is the lack of micro-climate, which means providing sheds to at least 50% of the cardamom bushes in the fields. These sheds can be in the form of tree sheds as well. The Spices Board is hence considering working on providing artificial sheds.
Since the scientists started the medication just about a year ago, its effectiveness in large scale production remains to be seen.
It was also informed that scientists have identified three varieties of large cardamom which seem to be significantly more tolerant to diseases than the other varieties and research work on them is currently in progress.
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