SWABI: Wheat crop has been attacked by rust disease due to continued rains and cloudy weather for the last one week, farmers and agriculture experts told Dawn.

They said the disease would badly curtail the yield.

The growers feared that more rains would mean increasing humidity and further spreading the disease.

The local farmers said they were not aware of what possible measures to take to eliminate the disease. They said the agriculture department didn`t educate them about the disease and the possible precautionary measures to prevent its spread.

`We don`t know its causes and treatment, but for the last several years when there are incessant rains the disease attacked the wheat crop,` said Mohammad Sardar Khan of Naro Banda village.

Hazrat Sher, another farmer, said rust-hit crop didn`t give yield, adding the crop which grew in areas deprived of sun were usually hit by the disease.

When contacted, former director general agriculture, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Allah Dad Khan said fungus already present in the soil had caused the rust disease.

`The rust is fungal disease that harms stem and leaves of the crop and reduces production,` he said. `There was also attack of `yellow rust` and `brown rust`, diseases which usually hit the wheat growing regions.

In reply to a question he said if the present cold wave and rains continued it might reduce the production by 25 to 40 per cent in the district.

About the precautionary measures, he said the farmers should immediately remove the plants attacked by the rust to prevent more plants falling prey to it.

Another vital step for the farmers was to immediately consult the agriculture experts to spray their crop with a recommended pesticide.

`The farmers should also avoid use of outdated seeds as use of same seed for years invited rust attack,` he said.

Meanwhile, the Kisan Board local leaders met here on Tuesday to devise a strategy to educate the farmers about the precautionary measures against rust attack.

Khalid Khan, the board`s district president, said it was responsibility of the government to educate farmers about rust and other diseases.