BAGAN SERAI: A total of 112 paddy farmers in three villages here suffered losses amounting to RM24,000 when their crops were attacked by brown planthoppers and a few diseases.
State Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industry Committee chairman Razman Zakaria said the attack involved 79 hectares of paddy fields in Kampung Parit Haji Ali, Parit Mentara and Alor Pongsu in Compartment F.
He said the attack was carried through the wind and caused browning of leaves and half-filled or empty grain.
“Apart from the brown planthoppers, the paddy growers are also facing attacks from diseases including bacterial leaf blight and pests such as rice bugs and Asiatic rice borers,” he said in a press conference at Surau Al-Firdaus in Parit Haji Ali after visiting the sites here, today.
Razman, who is also the Gunung Semanggol assemblyman, said early monitoring could prevent the paddy fields from being damaged by brown planthoppers.
He said the state agriculture department had allocated RM40,000 for pesticides to help farmers protect their paddy fields from pests and diseases by using dust and smoke methods.
Meanwhile, state agriculture department director Norsiyenti Othman said according to the standard operating procedures, the area should be sprayed with pesticides and monitored more frequently.
“A group of more than 10 brown planthoppers can damage the rice fields in a day or two. The insects live and lay eggs on rice stalks,” Norsiyenti said, adding that traps in the form of nets and lights should be installed to detect the early presence of the insects. -Bernama
