Molya Disease

Causal Organism: Heterodera avenae
Description The Molya disease also known as cereal cyst caused by the nematode. It prevalent in isolated pockets in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh. Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. Its incidence is higher in loamy and sandy soils as compared to medium and heavy soils. Optimum conditions for infection or temperature of 20-220 C and soil moisture of 60 per cent field capacity. The losses depends on the infection level of the soil, soil type and soil moisture status.
Symptoms The symptoms of disease include stunting of plants, discoloration of leaves of resembling nutrient deficiency and poor tillering. The infected plants are stunted, pale, and unhealthy. Under heavy infection, the plant may not develop beyond 15 cm in height. Roots of infested plants are stunted with along main root and few rootlets at the extreme end.
Control Measures Adoption of cultural practices can control the disease. Ploughing the fields two or three times in the month of May-June and are rotating the wheat crop with non-host crops such as gram, carrot, radish, marigold and resistant varieties of barley for one and two years, Mixing practices i.e. carbofuran @ 1.5 kg/ha in the soil also controls the disease to greater extent.