TRICHY: Sugarcane cultivation has turned bitter for hundreds of farmers in Papanasam in Thanjavur due to Pokkaboing disease.
Unable to safeguard their cultivation, dejected farmers have started destroying the five-month-old crop even as agriculture officials wracked their brains over halting the spread.
The officials said the disease is marked by appearance of chlorotic patches towards the base of young leaves. It is caused by a complex fungal species.
Farmers from areas like Veeramangudi, Ganapathi Agraharam, Someshwarapuram and Manalur in Papanasam block and Echangudi, Peramur, Okkakudi in Thiruvaiyaru have raised cane on more than 1,000 acres.
Of these, crop raised on about 300 acres has been affected severely. The farmers said the disease has been spreading to nearby fields also.
Farmers in Papanasam said the growth of the crop has gradually diminished after being affected by the disease. "The entire leaf turns yellow. We are unsure whether it was due to fungus or pest attack. Since the disease was spreading and we didn't know how to get rid of it, we started destroying the five-month-old crop by ploughing the cane field and switching over to paddy, said G Srinivasan, a cane farmer from Ganapathy Agraharam.
"We spend about 1 lakh per acre for growing sugarcane. So, far we have spent 30,000 and the entire money is gone," he said.
He requested agriculture officials to visit their fields, ascertain the damage and find a solution to tackle the disease. Since there is no crop insurance for sugarcane, farmers won't get compensation in the event of unexpected loss, he added.
Officials said that the cane variety cultivated by farmers are Co 86032, Co 205 and Co 365.
"We came to know that the canes were affected by Pokkaboing disease. We will examine the crop tomorrow. We understand that we cannot control the disease using chemical fertilizer. We will get rid of the disease using a natural method," V Sujatha, assistant director of agriculture, told TOI.
