‘Mango farmers must shun over-irrigation’

Pathologist says farmers practicing hoeing carried risk of ‘Sudden Death’ disease

MULTAN:

Nowhere in the world did mango farmers perform hoeing like Pakistani farmers who still adhere to the practice, carrying the risk of ‘Sudden Death’ infection, stated Mango Research Institute (MRI) Multan’s Plant Pathologist Dr Tariq Malik.

Speaking to APP on Tuesday, the researcher who took the lead to identify ‘Sudden Death’ disease as a fungus, added that the sudden death fungus was caused due to injuries inflicted on mango plants’ roots. “Sudden Death is a disease, which, if overwhelms the plant, cause it to dry up within days and ultimately its death.”

He described three factors contributing to root injuries to mango plants including deep hoeing around trunk of mango plant, ploughing in the mango orchards to grow another crop and flood irrigation which is excess water standing in the mango orchards. “The fungus is so deadly it can kill a fully grown mango tree within days. Sudden Death fungus was now present in soil and can penetrates the plants through openings of injured parts of the roots of mango trees.”

He advised mango farmers to avoid deep hoeing around the mango plants or should not perform it at all to keep their mango producing plants away from sudden death. “Farmers should avoid excess water but if they do they must not keep it standing in the orchards for days. Ploughing in mango orchards is also a practice that carry the risk of causing injuries to roots of mango plants.”

Either farmers exercise utmost care in ploughing or they should shun this practice, he warned.

He further said that all such practices that can injure roots must be avoided. “Mango malformation traditionally called ‘Batoor’ was also a fungus.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2020.