Mountain. Less than a month after planting, the blast disease has spread in the elderly paddy of Pokharel in different places here.

The disease has spread to the oldest paddy in mudikuwa-5, Khanigaun of Falebas municipality-4 and Devisthan of ward no. 6. Due to blast disease, there is a problem of drying of leaves, stems and roots. The farmers are worried about the problem in the paddy crop at the time of planting and sowing. Binod Bhusal, chairman of Falewas Municipality Agriculture Network, said that the disease has been detected in the paddy crop.

A team of technicians from the National Agricultural Modernization Programme Implementation Unit, Baglung, has started an on-site investigation after the blast disease was detected in hundreds of ropanis of land. Farmers, who suffered losses due to the outbreak of gubo rot and fungus last year, have to face blast disease again this year.

Although the infection has been detected in three wards of Phalewas at present, it has started appearing in other wards as well, said Bhusal, chairman of the network. He said initiatives were being taken to diagnose the disease in coordination with agricultural technicians. Older people are more infected than other varieties of rice.

A technical team of the National Agricultural Modernization Programme has recommended rice blast and tricyclazole pesticides. Lalit Sunar, a technician at the office, said two pesticides have been recommended to diagnose the problems seen in the paddy crop. According to him, one gram of pesticide sprayed with one gram of water will improve within a week.

Last year too, the disease caused minor damage. Pesticides have been provided free of cost to farmers. Information Officer of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Parbat, Sobita Subedi, shared that coordination and collaboration was underway between the agriculture section of the local level as well as the Knowledge Center and the National Agricultural Modernization Program to solve the problems faced by the rainy crops.