Red rot, a fatal fungus eating into the sugarcane crop in western Uttar Pradesh, has left India drastically short on sugar. BIJOY BASANT PATRO finds a countryside caned to death
The first documented report on red rot (Colletotrichum falcaturn) dates back to 1901. However, some researchers daim that it was prevalent in the Indian subcontinent centuries ago and was referred
THE INDIAN cotton crop, already attacked by several insects resistant to most insecticides, is now falling prey to a new insect -- the American serpentine leaf-miner. Scientists suspect this new
ENTOMOLOGISTS have identified a fungus (Pandora delphacis) that can kill two types of pests -- brown planthoppers (Nilaparvata lugens) and green leafhoppers (Nephotettix spp) -- that target the rice
African locusts, which have been infesting parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan since mid-July, are keeping pest control experts on their toes. The agriculture ministry has pressed into action two