KASARAGOD
A decision by farmers of Kotholi-Madivayal Padasekharam in Pilicode grama panchayat in the district to cultivate Manu Varna variety of rice developed by the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in 2019, has turned sour as they suffered a huge yield loss due to rice blast, a fungal disease affecting paddy.
The affected farmers said that the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) attached to the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) in Kasaragod had distributed the seeds free of cost assuring them that Manu Varna, cultivated for the first time in the district, was a high yielding variety. All the assistance and monitoring to cultivate the rice was assured..