Cuttack, 20th Oct 2025: Around 40Percent of the Kharif paddy crop in the district is currently affected by pest infestation. Due to continuous rainfall this season, pest attacks have become common across a majority of paddy fields.
In the ongoing Kharif season, paddy cultivation has been undertaken on 1,23,000 hectares of farmland across 14 blocks of the district.
However, before the paddy could reach the ear formation stage, stem borers, root rot, and leaf scorch diseases have attacked the crops. The leaves of the affected plants appear reddish and scorched, resembling fire-burnt patches.
Although the application of fertilizers and pesticides has shown some improvement, the shortage of urea fertilizer this season has worsened the situation, leading to an increased spread of pest attacks.
Farmers across several blocks have complained that over 50,000 hectares of paddy fields have already been affected by pests.
The agriculture department, however, seems to be taking the issue lightly. Farmers report that they are not receiving proper guidance on which pesticides to use for controlling the pests. Moreover, no free pesticides have yet been distributed to the affected farmers by the government.
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