Maharashtra cabinet minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has urged Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to announce a special package for soybean farmers in Chandrapur district saying an outbreak of yellow mosaic disease has destroyed the crop. Soybean was cultivated on 67,766 hectares in the district but was hit by the yellow mosaic virus in August, said a release by the BJP leader, who represents the Ballarpur constituency in the area.
After visiting many villages and interacting with soybean farmers about the outbreak, Mungantiwar, the minister for forest, cultural affairs and fisheries, wrote to the CM and agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde seeking a special relief package for the growers, it said.Soybean mosaic virus can cause plant stunting, reduced seed size, and reduced pod number per plant. It is one of the factors associated with discoloration of seeds. Soybean is known for its high protein content.Meanwhile, the district information officer said in a release on Sunday that researchers from the Akola-based Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University will visit Chandrapur district on September 26 to study the damage caused to the virus-hit soybean crop.