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Virus blights Aland sunflower crop in 16,000 hectares: Deccan Herald
Sunflower crop sown in around 16,000 hectares of Aland taluks is on the verge of being wiped out due to `sunflower necrosis`, a disease caused by virus attack. Already, the crop in 70 per cent of the sown area has perished and the rest will suffer too within the next few days.
Sunflower crop sown in around 16,000 hectares of Aland taluks is on the verge of being wiped out due to "sunflower necrosis", a disease caused by virus attack. Already, the crop in 70 per cent of the sown area has perished and the rest will suffer too within the next few days.
As farmers in and around Aland taluk had reaped a bumper harvest of sunflower last year, majority of them cultivated sunflower crop this year too. But, nature willed otherwise, and almost the entire crop has been affected now.
Even though the programmed area for sunflower crop, which is one of the major cash crops in the region, was pegged at 43,000 hectares in Gulbarga district by the agriculture department for the kharif season, due to failure of kharif crops, sowing of sunflower was taken up in 52,161 hectares.
As farmers in and around Aland taluk had reaped a bumper harvest of sunflower last year, majority of them cultivated sunflower crop this year too. But, nature willed otherwise, and almost the entire crop has been affected now.
Even though the programmed area for sunflower crop, which is one of the major cash crops in the region, was pegged at 43,000 hectares in Gulbarga district by the agriculture department for the kharif season, due to failure of kharif crops, sowing of sunflower was taken up in 52,161 hectares.