Insects found in Makhana and their prevention

Like all crops, there are insects in Makhana too. Apart from insects, diseases like hypertrophy, fruit rot also occur in Makhana. Talking about insects, insects like aphid , caseworm, root borer are mainly found in Makhana. Aphid insects feed on young or young plants. This damages the leaves of the plants. Caseworm insects are harmful to Makhana flowers. At the same time, root penetrating insects damage the roots of the plant. We can protect the plants from aphids and caseworms by spraying 0.3 percent neem oil solution. To protect the Makhana plants from root penetrating insects, it is necessary to add about 25 kg of neem cake while preparing the field.

Now let's talk about the diseases occurring in Makhana:

• Fruit rot disease: Plants affected by this disease are healthy in sight but its underdeveloped fruits start rotting. So far the insects causing fruit rot have not been detected. This disease can be controlled by spraying 0.3 percent solution of Carbendazim and Dithane M.45 on the leaves.

• Scorch disease: This disease is caused by Alternaria tinnus organism. Plants get moldy in this disease. In the late stage of this disease, the leaves appear completely scorched. Plants should be sprayed with copper oxychloride , 0.3% solution of Dithane.78 or Dithane M.45 two to three times at an interval of 15 days to avoid this disease.

• Hypertrophy: Flowers and leaves of plants affected by this disease become severely damaged due to abnormal growth. However, it is not considered a serious disease for Makhana plants. This disease in plants is also caused by a fungus called Dosansiopsis ureli. Due to this disease, the lower part of the plant is damaged and the seeds are not even formed in the flowers. Experiments are still being done to protect Makhana plants from this disease.