Heavy rains: Cotton crops hit by parawilt disease in Siddipet

The plants were seen shedding leaves and bolls early, leaving the farmers worried.

Siddipet: The continuous rainfall over the last few weeks has hit cotton crops, triggering a bout of para wilt or sudden wilt disease across the erstwhile Medak district.

The plant wilt suddenly due to this disease. The plants were seen shedding leaves and bolls early, leaving the farmers worried. While cotton is the major crop in Sangareddy district, it is the second major crop after paddy in Siddipet and Medak districts. Since the district has been witnessing relentless rains for over a fortnight, agriculture officers have noticed the sudden wilt in cotton crops in many places.

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Agriculture Officer for Markook mandal in Siddipet district, T Nagendar Reddy, said the plants that had more cotton balls would suffer the most. He has suggested to farmers that they drain out the water from the fields every day by closely monitoring the crop. Reddy said the productivity of the cotton crop would come down drastically even though the plants survive after the sudden wilt attack.

Educating farmers who were cultivating the cotton by supplying water, the agriculture officer suggested them not supply excess water to the crops. He said the plants that witness more growth and bear more balls would be hit by the sudden wilt disease.