Govt alert about Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus, Haryana Assembly informed

Chandigarh, Aug 26 (PTI) Haryana Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana Tuesday said the state government is alert regarding Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus (SRBSDV) and agricultural scientists are monitoring the situation while farmers are being made aware.

Rana, who was replying to a Calling Attention Motion brought by Congress' Aditya Surjewala, informed the House that out of about 40 lakh acres of sown paddy crop, approximately 92,000 acres have been found affected by this virus.

He said that the SRBSDV is a viral disease that affects the paddy crop and has become a matter of concern in many rice-producing areas of India.

This disease spreads through a vector called White-Backed Plant Hopper (WBPH), which sucks the sap of paddy plants and transmits the virus from infected plants to healthy ones, he said.

Rana said that in organic farming and in direct seeding of rice, there has been no report of damage due to this virus. If farmers sow paddy according to the advice of agricultural scientists and according to instructions of the government given from time to time, then such diseases can be largely prevented.

He said that due to this virus, the normal growth of infected rice plants stops, making them stunted with much less height than normal. Their leaves turn dark green, the development of new buds slows down or stops completely and the roots turn brown and remain underdeveloped, reducing the plant's ability to absorb water and nutrients, he said.

The minister said that the outbreak of this virus was first reported in Haryana during the Kharif 2022 season. In Kharif 2022, only a few cases were seen, but timely action and awareness campaigns carried out by Chaudhary Charan Singh (CCS) Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hisar and the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare prevented major damage.

In Kharif 2023 and 2024, no outbreak was reported due to effective preventive measures and increased awareness among farmers. Before Kharif 2025, farmers were well informed and precautions were repeated.

Nevertheless, in 2025, this disease re-emerged. The first cases were reported from Kaithal district and later from Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Jind and Panchkula districts, he said.

Farmers in these areas complained of abnormal dwarfing of plants in their fields. Scientists from CCS HAU, Hisar and officials from the Agriculture Department conducted a detailed survey, which revealed that this disease was most prevalent in hybrid rice varieties, followed by Parmal (non-basmati) and then basmati varieties.

The problem was mainly observed in fields where farmers had transplanted paddy before June 25, Rana said.

The Minister said that to confirm this disease, CCS HAU scientists collected samples of infected plants and tested them using RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) technique. The results confirmed that the plants were infected with "Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus". While sharing steps for prevention, he said that CCS HAU has issued an advisory to farmers for protection against SRBSDV.

In addition, 235 awareness camps were organised in the affected districts, in which 5,637 farmers were informed about disease management measures. Farmers were advised to spray recommended insecticides to control the "White-Backed Plant Hopper vector", he said. PTI SUN KSS KSS