The Department of Agriculture has determined that Potassium deficiency is the root cause of yellowing paddy cultivation and other diseases are also caused by that nutritional paucity.

It has emphasised that Potassium (K) deficiency is the basic cause of the yellowing of the paddy cultivation, which has been recorded in between 08 and 10 percent of the 770,000 hectares of paddy cultivated this maha season.

The Department of Agriculture said that the research carried out in this regard confirmed that nematode or root nodule roundworm disease and other fungal diseases are diseases that can easily be contracted due to nutritional deficiencies in the crop.

These facts were revealed at a press conference held at the Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya. The press conference was held with the participation of Director General of Agriculture Ms. Malathi Parasuraman and Director of Batalagoda Paddy Research Institute Dr. Jayantha Senanayake.

At present, this yellowing disease is mostly reported from Mahaweli C and H zones and in the Anuradhapura district. Although 08 to 10 percent of the total paddy cultivation is yellowing, the severity of the situation is around 03 percent. Therefore, there is no serious damage to the overall harvest of the 2022/23 season.

According to the current follow-up, it is possible to get about 2.6 million tonnes of paddy in this Maha season. It can produce enough rice for seven months for the country, the Department said.

It asserts that since the yield has increased in the last yala season and the government has already prepared all necessary arrangements to provide all the fertilisers required for paddy cultivation in the 2023 yala season Triple Super Fertiliser (TSP), Urea and MOP Fertiliser. It is possible to get a good rice harvest.

Therefore, the Department of Agriculture emphasises that there will be no shortage of rice in the country this year, and there will be no need to import rice.

However, yellowing of stalks was not reported from paddy fields treated with Bundy fertiliser or Muriate of Potash (MOP). Also, the Department of Agriculture emphasises that it was observed that the yellow color of the paddy fields was removed after applying MOP fertiliser to the paddy fields where the paddy had turned yellow.

If MOP fertiliser was applied between 04-06 weeks of paddy cultivation, it is also possible that this kind of disease would not have been reported. Although the government has imported 40,000 tonnes of MOP fertiliser, farmers have bought as little as 1,600 tonnes. Officials who participated in this news conference emphasised that lack of potassium required for the growth of paddy due to non-application of MOP fertiliser has caused the yellowing paddy cultivation. (IN)