Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Jun 23: Apple growers in several areas of south Kashmir are worried as a leaf minor pest has been infecting their orchards for the third consecutive year.
Farmers said that the pest has created havoc in their orchards for the past three years now.
“Wherever the pest was found in the last two years, produce was less shiny, smaller in size as this insect sucks all the nutrients from trees,” they said.
Aamir Hussain a fruit grower from Pulwama said that new pest is laying web layers from one branch to another and trunk and it even gets into fruit.
“This pest whose number is in millions is sucking all nutrients from the tree due to which size of fruit remains small. It is damaging leaves and then trees as well,” he said.
Growers said that first year it was mainly found in Shopian’s Zainapora but spread to other areas including Zainapora, Litter, Watchi, Yaripora, Lassipora, Tahab and Bijbehara areas the following year.
In the ongoing season, almost all orchardists in south Kashmir are complaining about the disease.
They have demanded attention of horticulture department and experts to prevent further damage.
“Even after spraying insecticides several times, there is hardly any effect on this pest,” they said.
Orchards where leaf miner was reported have even complained about premature fruit last year.
Senior Scientists from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology (SKUAST) said that it is an invasive insect which has been identified as “leaf miner and has probably reached here before four years.”
Leaf miners were reported some time ago but in last two year their manifestation has increased yet their number is not too huge, the expert said.
“Most pathogens and fungal or bacterial diseases are invasive species and this leaf miner is curable if growers will follow advisories regularly,” he added while requesting farmers to co-operate with the horticulture department.
