Neem trees under devastating fungal attack yet again

The neem tree population in Telangana and some other States, which was under a devastating fungal attack exactly a year ago, is under attack yet again this year.

Though it is not as severe, the fungal infestation is causing serious damage to neem trees in some parts of the State.

The good news, however, is that the trees are fighting back, giving hope to the Telugu-speaking population, who welcome the Telugu New Year ‘Ugadi’ (March 22, 2023) with a drink (or ‘Ugadi pickle’ as it is called) where neem flowers are an important ingredient. 

Neem trees fight back as twigs and branches sprout with green leaves, recovering from the fungal attack.

With reports of fungal attacks on neem trees coming from several parts of the State, Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) has set up a high-level committee comprising plant pathologists, agronomists and entomologists to study the fungal outbreak and suggest measures to farmers on how to tackle the problem.

“Due to excessive rainfall and high humidity during August and September 2022, the infected neem plants exhibited symptoms such as wilting and drying of the whole plant, drying of twigs and gummosis (excessive production and oozing out of gum in a diseased plant),” R Jagadeeswar, Director of Research at PJTSAU, told businessline.

“It (the damage) is well under one-third of what we suffered last year. It is under control and we are seeing green leaves sprouting from twigs and branches,” he said.

The reports of neem trees reeling under severe fungal attack hit headlines last year as the tree is a kind of the first line of defence for people because of its established anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

First spotted in Gadwal district last year, the disease spread like wildfire, sparing virtually no neem tree in the State. It surprised many because the trees are well spaced out, sometimes even by hundreds of metres.

The university had spotted over 10 pathogens on the infected trees.

The incidence was first reported in Dehradun about 30 years ago.

The team of scientists that visited the affected areas has asked farmers to spray carbendazim (one gm in one litre) or apply mancozeb with carbendazim (2.5 gm in one litre) on the affected areas to reduce wilting and drying.

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