THE agriculture ministry will look
into the reported presence of the Karnal
bunt infection in one of the consignments of Indian wheat to Turkey.
The Turkish agriculture ministry
had rejected the wheat saying that its
inspectors had detected Karnal bunt
fungus in it.
The ministry made it clear that
Turkey had not barwed all Indian wheat
imports but only those containing the
fungus. Inquiries from Krishi Bhawan
reveal that the Karnal bunt disease,
which had become a threat over a
decade ago was stillpr6ent in some
parts of the country though not in large
proportions. The disease does not affect
the yield of the crop but renders the
grain unfit for the market. The bunt-
infected seeds emit foul smell similar to
that of rotten eggs.
Krishi Bhawan sources said the
Turkish incident cannot become a non-tariff barrier to the export of Indian
wheat. The Karnal bunt infection can
only be a cause for a ban on Indian
wheat imports in those countries which
are absolutely free of this disease, not in
others.
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