The viral disease shatters their hope after price fall Late blight disease has attacked potato plants on vast tracts of land in the district, causing a severe concern for the farmers after they experienced sharp fall in price of the item.
The disease, marked by rotting of potatoes, was caused by recent rain in the district.A number of growers said getting attacked with the viral disease,
potatoes on several hundred acres (one acre is equivalent to 30 decimals) of land are rotting in the fields.The farmers said they had to suffer heavy losses due to low prices of potato last year.To recover the losses, they cultivated the item on about 1,360 hectares of land in four upazilas of the district this year.The growers dreamt of getting bumper production of the popular winter vegetable. But, the disease has now turned their dreams into nightmares.Farmer Mamun of Garabaria village in Sadar upazila said the viral disease caused by three days’ rain during harvest has affected potatoes on several hundred acres of land.Another farmer Rashedul Islam said the disease is spreading to the fields one after another.Attacked by the disease, potato plants get rotten, he said, adding that affected farmers are spraying pesticides in the fields to check spread of the disease, but it is not bringing any good results.Expressing frustration over what he said inaction of local DAE officials, grower Fazlu Miah of Karpasdanga village in Damurhuda
upazila said though they are extremely worried over the disease, DAE is yet to provide any assistance to them.Mentioning that potatoes are being sold at low prices at different markets, he said they are likely to fail to recover production cost of the item this year too.”The loss caused by late blight disease will turn us (farmers) destitute,” he added. However, denying the allegation, Habibullah Sarkar, deputy director of DAE in Chuadanga, said late blight appeared due to natural disaster and they are providing suggestion to the farmers to prevent the disease. UNB, Chuadanga
