Farmers in Sergithang Gewog’s Tashithang Chiwog in Tsirang have been enjoying bountiful spring chilli production in recent years, fetching them good prices. However, this year, they are facing a setback. Farmers are losing their chilli plants to insects, hampering both chilli production and their income. Spring chilli, which was initially cultivated in 2020 on trial, has become one of the main cash crops in the gewog.
More than 90 farmers from three chiwogs of Tashithang, Sergithang Maed and Semdenjong in Sergithang Gewog cultivated Spring chilli on over 140 acres of land this season, hoping for a good income.
However, their efforts have been in vain as insects have infested the chilli plants during the peak fruiting period.
While some farmers managed to sell a small amount of chilli at prices ranging from Nu 350 to 400 per kilogramme, others are busy uprooting affected plants and dealing with insects to avoid further spread.
Agriculture officials attribute the infestation to an insect called aphids which suck the sap from chilli plants, causing death within a week.
“As soon as chilli plants started flowering, pests started attacking chilli plants. The insects are like tiny flies. We started spraying pesticides on the chilli plants after requesting from the gewog agriculture extension supervisor. But we couldn’t bring it under control,” said Dhanapati Sanyasi, a farmer from Tashithang.
“This year, we didn’t face any shortage of irrigation water and our chilli saplings grew healthier since we watered them manually. However, despite our efforts, the chilli plants began to die when they started bearing fruits,” said Ganga Ram Sanyasi, another farmer from Tashithang.
“The Gewog agriculture extension office provided us with a liquid pesticide which we sprayed twice but it didn’t help much. So, we reached out to the Gewog agriculture extension supervisor who assessed the situation. They taught us how to make a homemade pesticide using onion, Indian chilli and soap. Despite spraying this solution and even trying a detergent solution, we still couldn’t protect the chilli plants from the infestation,” said Yamuna Sanyasi, also a farmer from Tashithang.
“The gewog agriculture extension supervisor has been helping us control the infestation. But it seems like we failed to inform the office on time. As a result, chilli production is not good this season. The pest has affected all the 92 households growing chilli in Sergithang Gewog this time,” said Rudra Lal Sanyasi, a farmer from Tashithang.
The gewog agriculture extension supervisor through a phone interview said that the cloudy and prolonged cold weather in the gewog this year has caused aphids to emerge. However, he added that the infestation is severe only in a few chilli farms in Tashithang Chiwog.
In addition, the supervisor said that the situation worsened because affected farmers didn’t report the problem promptly.
The official further added that the recent rainfall that lasted a few days has helped reduce the infestation. Additionally, hotter weather in the area will further decrease the insect population.
Meanwhile, after the issue was referred to the National Plant Protection Centre by the gewog agriculture extension office, some farmers have begun using horticultural mineral oils on chilli plants given by the centre.
The gewog agriculture extension office is currently monitoring the progress of the chili plants.
Pema Tshewang, Tsirang
Edited by Sonam Pem
