In news

A field workshop on “Techno-management options to control Orobanche in mustard-a pilot study” was jointly organized by Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT), Gurugram, Haryana and the ICAR-Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research (ICAR-DRMR), Bharatpur at village Gurda Nandi in the Bharatpur district.

About the workshop

• The workshop was held at the project site and attended by the Scientists from IPFT, Gurugram and the ICAR-DRMR, Bharatpur as well as by the 50 mustard growing farmers whose crop is affected by Orobanche.
• The work initiated on innovative herbicide formulation and field testing showed good insights about the Orobanche management and will come out with fruitful results in the coming years

Orobanche

• Orobanche a serious hidden parasitic weed in mustard cause severe yield loss to the extent of up to 50% and there is no absolute control measures developed so far
• Broomrapes (Orobanchespp.)are aggressive root parasitic weeds, which attack strategic food crops, such as legumes and vegetables, and threaten the livelihood of many nations.
• The continuous spread of Orobanche limits the choice of rotational crops and often force farmers to give up growing the most profitable host crops. Many farmers in the areas infested abandon agriculture altogether, forced to migrate and seek other means of income outside the rural domains.
• Heavy Orobancheinfestation does not only lead to a complete crop failure, but make field soils Orobanche-sick over a long period of time, preventing the reasonable production of legumes and vegetables in the infested fields for many years to come.  Failure of containing this parasite will be disastrous.
• The continuous spread of the parasite in many countries is hastened by the lack of awareness about the biology of the parasite and the possible means of its management among farmers and personnel of the Ministries of Agriculture.

 Source: PIB