Field library

Wilt

A fungus that enters through wounds in the roots and stem and blocks the water pipes inside the cane. The top leaves go yellow and then dry off, and the cane turns light and hollow. Split a sick cane lengthways and the pith inside is brown-purple and gives a sour smell. It hits hardest where the field goes dry after standing water, or where borers have already made holes.

How to scout

From the monsoon on, pull any cane whose top leaves have dried, split it lengthways with a knife, and look for brown-purple, hollow pith inside.