Having grown a special variety of paddy, Subrat Adhikari of Tentuapada village under Digapahandi block in the district claimed he is unaffected by the pest menace.
Vice Chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Surendranath Pasupalak along with some scientists on Friday visited his field and found the crop was free-from much talked BPH disease.
The 39-year-old farmer cultivated around 8 acres of paddy variety "Hasanta", which was developed by the OUAT about three years ago. The standing Hasanta paddy crop was free from BPH, said Adhikari, who took to cultivation as his occupation after completing his degree in science.
At least four farmers, including Adhikari, cultivated the Hasanta variety in around 14-acres of land in the village. "It shows that the Hasanta, developed by the OUAT, is free from pest attack," said the OUAT VC who visited the area.
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Stating that the paddy variety was introduced three years ago by the university, he said the team also held discussion with the farmers on the menace and loss suffered by them due to the pest attack.
"I had cultivated this new variety in a small patch of land the same year with the advice of a scientist of the university. In subsequent years, I grew it in more areas," said Adhikari.
The productivity of the variety was between 30 to 32 quintals per acre, he said adding the crop is in harvesting stage and we will cut the crop in a week.
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