Virus hits 40pc mango orchards in Sind

By Saleem Shaikh

March 06, 2011

Daily Dawn

KARACHI, March 5: Mango orchards on thousands of acres in Sindh have come under different viral disease attack.

The growers said that a large mango growing area has already been cleared to prevent the spread of disease. The situation is reported to be more serious in Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiari, Naushero Feroz, Sangarh and Umerkot districts.

Officials in the Plant Protection wing of the Sindh agriculture department confirmed reports of viral attack. At present, more than 40 per cent orchards are infected. They feared significant losses to the mango production this year.

Growers have complained that the official did not offer any help to fight the virus on their mango orchards.

“I have visited the office of EDO agriculture Matiari several times to seek their help to control the problem and save other nearby orchards, but the response was very poor,” said Nabi Khan Samejo, a prominent mango grower.

“No estimates about the total damage to the crop are available but it has become a limiting factor in many mango-growing areas,” said a senior official in the agriculture department`s extension wing.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) said that because of frequent viral attacks province`s overall mango output and its share in export would decline significantly.

Mango is cultivated in the province on around 56,000 hectares, with annual production of some 390,000 tons, according to provincial agriculture department`s statistics.

“But, mango crop this year is likely to post 30-40 per cent fall in the production due to the disease,” said mango growers.

They said it was intriguing that pest or viral attacks on mango orchards were more frequent in the province but there was no testing laboratory, where the mango growers could get help for overcoming the disease.

Mango grower Naveed Rahimo in Naushero Feroz said there was only one testing laboratory in Lahore, but it is very difficult to send samples of virus or disease-hit mango trees there and get the problem diagnosed.

Muhammad Afzal Arain, director Nuclear Institute for Agriculture, Tando Jam said two plant pathology laboratories have been established at the institute, where samples of the affected mango trees are being tested.

Former director Agriculture Research Institute in Tando Jam, Dr Abdul Sattar Buriro said that since the mango orchards were given on contracts to private investors, reports of viral attacks have become more frequent.

They do not invest in proper care of the orchards, he lamented.

He urged the farmers to avoid contracting their mango orchards and properly look after their gardens by ensuring proper irrigation and balanced nutrients.

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Govt urged to set up wheat buying centres

By Saleem Shaikh

Daily Dawn

KARACHI, Feb 28: Wheat harvesting has started in lower Sindh districts but the government has not yet set up procurement centres.

According to the information gathered from the growers the harvesting began from February 15, in Umerkot, Badin, Mirpurkhas and some parts of Sanghar districts. The harvesting in central Sindh is also picking up.

The province is likely to have bumper wheat crop, but the key challenge for the provincial food department would be to procure the grain on time.

The delay in procurement hurts small farmers as they are compelled to sell their produce to the middlemen and the traders at a price below the official support price, said Amin Memon, chairman Lower Sindh Growers Association.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture official Nabi Bux said that no efforts had been made by the food department to arrange gunny bags and setting up wheat picking centres in the lower Sindh.

Secretary Agriculture Agha Jan Akhtar said that wheat sowing in the province would touch 11,00,000 hectares against a target of 10,31,000 hectares and it is hoped that the wheat output would also surpass the target.

“We are expecting some 3.8 million tons of wheat production against a target of 3.682 million tons”, he said. “Fruits of bumper wheat output may go down the drain if provincial food department failed to set up wheat buying centres immediately”, he warned.

A spokesman of the food department Muneer Jalbani claimed that efforts had been made to purchase polypropylene (PP) and gunny bags and procurement centres would be set up in wheat growing districts before March 15.

He said that 1.3 million tons of wheat procurement target has been set for the food department for 2011 Rabi season, which would be achieved before June.

He said that a tender was floated on January 29, for buying 10 million PP bags (50kg each), which would be distributed among the wheat growers by April 1.

However, some officials in the food department hardly see any possibility of the wheat procurement centres to become operational before April 1.

“The buying centres are established only after the Sindh government issues orders. But, so far no orders have been made to the food department”, they argued.

Mr Jalbani, however, insisted that the food department was determined to make 350 procurement centres operational by March 15, in lower Sindh and by April 1, in upper Sindh districts.

Weblink: http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/01/govt-urged-to-set-up-wheat-buying-centres.html