Srinagar, Nov 04: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir on Saturday issued an advisory for the containment of spider mite outbreak in Bijbehara area of district Anantnag.
A SKUAST-K team along with officers of horticulture department visited the Semthan village of Bijbehara to check the present status of red spider mite infestation and farmers were provided necessary suggestions.
“According to the communication received from Joint Director Horticulture Kashmir, a meeting was held in SKUAST-K to chalk out the management strategies for the contamination of spider mite outbreak in horticulture zone of Bijbehara, Anantnag,” said the advisory issued by Division of Entomology, Faculty of Horticulture, SKUAST-K.
It said that for the foliar spray with acaricides, farmers should use bifenazzate or bifenthrin or fenpropathrin.
“After foliar spray, treatment for tree trunks and limbs include Bordeaux paste or fenpropathrin and paste it on the affected tree trunks/limbs,” the advisory said.
SKUAST-K through the medium of the advisory has suggested farmers to collect and destroy pruned material in the orchards and remove weeds that act as shelter belts for the pests.
A SKUAST-Kashmir expert said that sanitation in orchards post-crop harvest including removing of leaves, and pruned wood is important to keep disease and pests at bay.
An Associate Professor of Plant Pathology at SKUAST-K, said all the pests and diseases survive on leaves and pruned wood in orchards in winter that cause many diseases.
“Leaves, damaged or leftover apples leaves, pruned wood should not be kept in orchards as they could become source of infection next year in the orchards,” he said.
The expert said if orchardists and farmers remove these leaves and the pruned wood in autumn, 80 to 90 percent of the disease source could be curbed.
He said it is impossible to eliminate 100 percent source of infection adding that farmers should be focused on orchard sanitation which is very important.
“One of the most important things that growers forget is orchard sanitation. There are a lot of reasons people don’t do it. They don’t see that they have scab in their orchard, that the fruit at harvest looks great, clean,” he said.
The SKUAST-K expert said that many orchardists leave rotten apple in orchards suggesting farmers to desist from the practice saying it also causes diseases.
