Context:
Dieback disease hits neem trees in Telangana again.
Relevance:
Facts for prelims
About Dieback Disease:
- The dieback disease was first noted in Telangana in 2019, but it was originally recorded in the nation in the 1990s near Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
- Phomopsis azadirachtae, a fungus, is the primary cause of the dieback disease, which affects neem trees of all ages’ leaves, twigs, and inflorescences. In badly affected trees, the dieback disease results in an almost complete loss of fruit production.
- Neem trees can experience insect infestations in addition to the fungus that causes dieback, which compounds its impact. Twig blight and dieback disease has been identified as the illness threatening neem trees in Telangana, and it has made a significant comeback in the state this year.
- The appearance of symptoms starts with the onset of the rainy season and becomes progressively severe in the later part of the rainy season and early winter.
-Source: The Hindu
