Sherago’s attack on the date crop of Panjgur

By Muatasim Qazi

PANJGUR: A migratory pest continues to ravage the date plants in the district despite repeated attempts from the provincial ministry of agriculture to contain it.

The pest (bug), identified as Dubas Bug, causes a disease in the plants that is known as Sherago locally. The bug bites into the branches of the date palm and, as a consequence, juice of the plant is secreted from the affected part and the plant dies down in a span of six to eight months.

Provincial ministry of agriculture has spent millions of rupees to this date on three ground and two aerial spray campaigns to rout out the pest but without much success and, according to some farmers, the amount has gone “down the drain”.

“The district chapter of the provincial agriculture ministry had suggested the latter to sanction funds for aerial and ground sprays earlier previously so that the sprays could be conducted in the first week of April and then in early September because in these months the eggs of the bug are hatched and that the bug is in its infant stage and could easily be controlled”, maintained Abdul Hameed Baloch, agriculture officer marketing committee in the district agriculture department. “But the ministry could not sanction funds in time and we had to conduct sprays at a time when the bug had completed its life cycle and could easily fly from one plant to another”, said Deputy District Officer Plant Protection Mr. Naematullah Baloch. He also blamed the farming community for not cooperating with the spray teams. “Traditional orcharding is also a major hindrance in tackling the pest as the spray teams face hardship while conducting the sprays because the date palm groves are completely impassable”, he further stated.

The pest first emerged in the district in 1999 and so far very little has been done on scientific basis to contain it. The district used to produce dates in tens of thousands of tons of finest quality which now, after the emergence of the disease, has just reduced to mere thousands, mostly not edible.

District Panjgur is celebrated for its delicious dates in the country. Almost 32 kinds of dates of fine quality are produced in and around the district. The date palm of Mauzati, date of the finest quality produced in the entire region, is one of the worst affected.

Haji Raheem Jan Baloch, president Zameendar Action Committee Panjgur while talking to this scribe said the cosmetic steps of the provincial government aren’t going to serve the purpose. He appealed to the federal government and other international organizations to take drastic measures to curtail the pest. “Mainstay of our economy is agriculture and the only lucrative crop of the region is date. The government should take proper steps to avert an economic massacring of the people”, said Mr. Raheem.