The attack of Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) locally known as Current Poka, have been witnessed in the standing transplanting Aman (T Aman) plots in Jhenidah Sadar upazila causing heavy loss of crops. It is apprehended to hamper the yield of the paddy in the season, said the farmers.
Although the officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) have been saying that the attack of BPH was no serious this season.
When the media activists on Monday visited Protappur village in Jhenidah Sadar upazila, contacted a number of farmers in the fields. They (farmers) said the attack of Current Poka was severe on their T Aman plots in the season. They have sprayed Miptin variety of pesticides as advised by the DAE which could not bring satisfactory result to control the pests.
Farmers Golam Mostafa, Liakat Ali, Abdul Kddus and Mosharraf Hossain said they are worried thinking the future of the long cherished T-Aman paddy this season as the roots were damaged badly due to pest attack.
The farmers informed that huge quantity of damaged plants of the standing T-Aman were stacked near the bridge adjacent to Jhenidah government veterinary collage. It has been spreading bad smell round the clock from the stack.
Sub assistant agriculture officer of the Halidhani block Mainul Islam said they have detected the affected plots and advised the farmers to spray Miptin powder to save the crops from the attack of BPH.
Office of the deputy director of the department of agriculture extension in Jhenidah sources said they farmers of Jhenidiah Sadar, Kaliganj, Kotchandpur, Moheshpur, Shailkupa and Harinakundu brought a total of 105,646 hectares of land under T-Aman farming in the season.
DAE deputy director GM Abdur Rauf when contacted said some of the plots were affected sporadically more or less due to inadequate rainfall during the transplanting hours. They have advised the field level staffs of the DAE to stand by the farmers and advise them to take steps after detecting the same. BPH attack will not affect the farmers badly.
