Joint survey finds no yellow rust in wheat crops across Ambala and Panchkula blocks

AMBALA: A joint survey conducted by the Centre and state governments to assess the incidence of yellow rust in wheat crops across various areas of Ambala and Panchkula districts, did not find any case of the disease.Assistant Plant Protection Officer (APPO), Ambala, Shekhar informed that the survey was jointly carried out by the Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Centre, Faridabad, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, along with the District Agriculture Department, Ambala (Blocks Barara and Saha) and the District Agriculture Department, Panchkula (Block Raipur Rani).Shekhar stated that the survey was conducted under the guidance of Vandana Pandey, Regional Head and Deputy Director of the Regional IPM Centre, Faridabad.

The field inspection team included Praveen Kumar, Block Agriculture Officer, Saha; Amandeep, Block Agriculture Officer, Raipur Rani; Vinay Kumar, Agriculture Development Officer (Plant Protection); Bhupinder, Agriculture Development Officer; and Vishal Sharma, Agriculture Supervisor.The team surveyed wheat crops in villages Milk Dhankota, Manka and Bikampur in Barara block of Ambala district; Tepla village in Saha block; and villages Hangola, Piarewala and Garhi Kotaha in Raipur Rani block of Panchkula district.

During the survey, wheat fields were examined for pest attacks and diseases, including yellow rust. Officials confirmed that no incidence of any major pest or disease, including yellow rust, has been observed in the surveyed areas so far.During the interaction, farmers were advised to remain vigilant and regularly monitor their wheat crops for pests and diseases such as yellow rust. They were instructed that if yellow rust symptoms are noticed in any part of the field, the affected plants should be uprooted, sealed in a polythene bag and buried in the soil to prevent further spread.

In case of severe infestation, farmers were advised to use fungicides approved by the Central Insecticides Registration Board (CIRB) as per recommended guidelines.The survey team also included APPO Laxmi Kant, APPO Ram Kumar and APPO Surjit Barman from the Regional IPM Centre, Faridabad, along with local farmers, who actively participated in the field inspections and discussions.Agriculture officials emphasized that timely monitoring and prompt preventive measures are key to safeguarding wheat crops and ensuring healthy yields for farmers in the region.