Pest attack concerns farmers, officials in Assam

Guwahati, Sep 23 (UNI) A severe pest attack has damaged the paddy crop of Jorhat and Sivsagar district causing concern not only among the farmers but also agricultural department officials.

Agricultural Information Officer Mowsom Hazarika today said reports had been obtained from the districts that paddy crops had been harmed by pests over a large area, estimating that similar incidents had occurred in other districts.

''If the outbreak of pests is not checked in the primary stage, it may cause serious damage to the standing crop resulting in substantial reduction in food grain output,'' he felt.

In this direction, state Principal Secretary(Agriculture Department) J P Meena issued emergency message to all District Agricultural Officers(DAO) to keep a vigil on the pest-infested areas with the aid of surveillance systems and administer remedial measures after carrying out diagnosis in the initial stage.

Furthermore, all DAOs had been instructed to report to the state's Director of Agriculture on detection of any pest attacks.

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