‘Khaksarak’ disease damages plum orchards in Ghazni — Pajhwok

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): A number of orchard owners in Khwaja Omari district of southern Ghazni province say a plant disease locally known as “Khaksarak” has spread through plum orchards, damaging this year’s harvest. They have called on the government and aid organisations to help contain the outbreak. Haji Omid, an orchard owner from Qala-i-Naw village in Khwaja Omari district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that around 60 percent of the trees in his orchard had been affected by the disease. He said the disease caused the fruit to dry up and perish before ripening, adding that he had never encountered such an outbreak before. Another orchard owner, Sadr, from the Ganbat area of the district, also said plum trees had been infected this year, destroying a large proportion of the crop. He recalled last year’s harvest had been damaged by heavy rain and hailstorms, while this year’s outbreak had further compounded the difficulties facing orchard owners. According to him, the disease has also spread to other parts of the district. Several other orchard owners confirmed the outbreak and urged the government and humanitarian organisations to take practical measures to control the disease and provide farmers with the necessary technical guidance. Meanwhile, Zakaria Hotak, plant protection manager at the Ghazni Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, confirmed the presence of the disease,…