LAHORE: After wheat losing 15 to 20 per cent yield to untimely heatwave, the farmers now fear an equal drop in maize yield as the crop comes under multiple pest attack, temperatures impacting the grain formation and water stress taking its toll.

The farmers are reporting triple attack by fall armyworm, mites and aphid. Of all three, mite attack is turning out to be widespread, more dangerous and may claim ultimate toll on the crop, they think and claim that it came after the crop had suffered pollination problems due to heatwave since mid-March.

`The crop suffered from the very beginning when its germination period fell right in the middle of an extreme heatwave and there has been no relief ever since,` claims Naeem Hotiana a maize grower from Pal(pattan district.

With it came equally damaging water stress.

Though some farmers were able to irrigate with tubewell at a very heavy cost, yet watering offered limited relief because of scorching heat. It affected the pollination process and affected grain formation.

This weakened crop then came under three-prongedpest attack. Right now, three pests armyworm, aphid and mites are damaging the crop to varying levels, which might translate into around 20pc loss for the final yield, he fears and quantifies the damage: `The spring maize usually averages around 100 maunds per acre (a progressive farmer`s performance estimate) and if it goes down by 20pc, farmers would be in financial trouble in corresponding measure. Coming after wheat loss, it would certainly damage farmers.

The pest warning system of the Punjab government concedes pest attack but denies that it has hit the threshold level. The fall armyworm attack is much more widespread and is being reported from the entire province, especially in the central Punjab (Sahlwal and Pakpattan) and the South Punjab (Lodhran, Multan etc.).

Aphid attack is also reported in some areas.

`This pest was first reported in 2019 in limited area. It, however, multiplied at Malthusian rate in next two years to the extent that it was recognised as a regular pest last year, and the Punjab is strategizing safety measure,` explains an employee of the Punjab Pest Warning wing.