»Managing false smut of rice (summary)«
Rice is a popular staple food around the world. To meet the growing demand, some farmers cultivate hybrid rice but this requires lots of chemical fertilizer.
The excessive use of chemical fertilizers and intensive mono cropping has made crops susceptible to pests and diseases. One such major disease is false smut of rice. As a result, farmers have increasingly relied on toxic pesticides harming their health, damaging the environment and putting themselves into debt. False smut causes grains to get chalky colour and texture which affects milling and cooking. To manage this disease, use healthy seeds from a resistant variety. Before sowing, soak the seeds in very warm water for 10 minutes.
False Smut Management
Dip the seeds in normal water and treat them with a beneficial fungus such as trichoderma. If you don‘t have trichoderma, soak a kilogram of rice seeds in a half litre of cow urine mixed with two and a half litres of water.
Plant early to avoid the disease. Keep your field from getting too wet. Let it dry after a drip irrigation. Keep your field buns and irrigation canals free of weeds.
False Smut Management
Plant taller crops like maize as a border around your rice field. Use moderate rates of nitrogen rich manure and spray organic growth promoters like fermi wash.
Whenever you see false smut, prepare a solution with basil or beetle wine leaves and spray once a week then remove infected panicles. If their are problems with false smut, deep blow field once after harvest. By growing a healthy crop, the harvest will be bountiful..
