‘Tikri’ Disease Threatens Pomegranate Crops in Rajasthan: ICAR Deploys Expert Team
07 October 2025, New Delhi: Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has taken cognisance of reports of severe pomegranate crop damage caused by diseases — including the destructive ‘Tikri’ disease — in Balotra and adjoining pomegranate-growing regions of Rajasthan.
The Minister has directed the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to dispatch a special team of scientists to the affected districts for an immediate on-ground investigation. The team will identify the causes of the disease outbreak, assess current management practices, and evaluate the cultivation techniques being followed by local farmers.
Chouhan stated that a comprehensive action plan will be prepared based on the team’s findings. The plan will focus on disease diagnosis and control, improved pruning and nutrient management, and the adoption of modern horticultural practices to restore crop health and prevent future infestations.
To aid farmers, experts from ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture (CIAH), Bikaner; ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate (NRC), Solapur; Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur; and local agricultural universities will provide technical guidance and training for effective disease management and quality improvement.
The Minister emphasised that only a coordinated effort involving central and state agriculture and horticulture departments, research institutions, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) can contain the disease effectively. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that farmers’ problems are resolved swiftly and that their productivity and income continue to rise through scientific and collective action.
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