Farm scientists in the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad have come up with new strategies to help pomegranate farmers in the region overcome certain problems, including bacterial blight, a major disease that destroys their crop.
According to renowned plant pathologist I V Benagi, diseases like bacterial blight, wilt complex, fruit rot (anthracnose), leaf and fruit spots and Insect pests like pomegranate butterfly, stem borer, shot hole borer, leaf eating caterpillar, mealy bugs,thrips, aphid, mites, white fly, fruit sucking moths, nematodes and disorders like fruit cracking sun scald and internal breakdown of arils were haunting the pmogranate farmers. A team of scientists in UAS headed by professor Benagi has come out with a series of remedial measures for each of the problem.
Farm scientists V B Nargund, R A Balikai and M R Ravikumar along with Benagi have visited all the places where pomegranate is cultivated in India and Spain and studied the problems.
Karnataka government has provided Rs 1 crore to the department of plant pathology in UAS (Dharwad) to conduct research on Bacterial blight, thanks to the then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
The scientists have published booklets in Kannada and English and distributed them to the farmers. The booklet explains the symptoms of each disease and suggests remedial measure. The scientists have also prepared a CD that explains to the farmers the actual process of implementing the remedial measure. “We are responding to the telephone calls from farmers from different places and addressing their problems”Benagi said.
Benagi told The Times of India that bacterial blight of pomegranate affects leaves, twigs, and fruits. Infected fruit and twigs are potential sources of primary inoculums. The secondary spread of bacterium is mainly through rain and spray splashes, irrigation water, pruning tools, humans, and insect vectors. Entry is through wounds and natural openings. The first water-soaked lesions develop within 2-3 days and appear as dark red spots. Disease build up is rapid from July to September. Severity increases during June and July and reaches a maximum in September and October and then declines.
Bacterial cells are capable of surviving in soil for 120 days and also survive in fallen leaves during the off-season. High temperatures and low humidity or both favour disease development. Optimal temperature for growth of bacterium is 30°C; thermal death point is about 52°C.
India is the largest producer of pomegranate next only to Iran. During 2007-2008 pomegranate had covered an area of 122,000 hectares with a production of 858,000 tonnes and the productivity was 7 tonnes per hectare. The area under the crop had increased in Karnataka and Maharastra at a rapid pace during the past few years.
In Karnataka pomegranate is a major crop in Chitradurga, Hosadurga, Bagalkot, Koppal, Bellary and Raichur which are in tropical region. But the area under cultivation had come down drastically following loss of crop due to diseases. The fruit is fetching much foreign exchange for the country as sizeable quantity of fruits is being exported from these states. India exported 35.2 thousand tonnes of fruits valued at Rs 911 million. Till recently there were no serious constraints in its production but the problems of wilt and bacterial blight have caused its area to dwindle suddenly.
Scientist V B Nargund explained that pomegranate aril juice provides 16 per cent of an adult’s daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and antioxidant polyphenols. He said in preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies juice of the pomegranate was effective in reducing heart disease risk factors. He informed that pomegranate seed oil, containing polyphenols which inhibit estrogen synthesis was effective against proliferation of breast cancer cells.
Source: Times of India