FOORKEY:LARGE CARDAMOM

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Common Name of Disease:	3. FOORKEY
Local Name of Disease	-Furkey

Causal Organism

-Virus

Distribution of Disease in Sikkim

-Present in all the four districts of Sikkim irrespective of variety and locality

Disease Incidence

-Moderate

Site of Infection

-Leaves, pseudostems, clumbs and rhizomes.

Dissemination of the Disease

-Through infected planting materials, contaminated tools and insect vector.

Symptoms
The affected plants produce profuse stunted shoots which fail to produce flowers. The leaves become small, lightly curled and pale green in colour. The inflorescence becomes stunted, thereby producing no flowers and fruits. The capsule size reduced and chaffy without seeds.Favourable environmental condition for disease: Inadequate shades, water stress condition, lack of phyto-sanitation to destroy the insect vectors, presence of infected old plants in garden.

Mode of Transmission
Viral diseases are primarily transmitted through planting material, through sap by the aphid, Pentalomia nigronervosa, Mycromyzus kalimpongensis. Disease is also spread through using the contaminated operational tools and implements.

Life cycle of Organism
Plant Protection Measures:
Viral diseases of plants are cancerous in nature and are difficult to cure. Early identification of the diseased plants, uprooting and burning on community basis helps reduce the spread.
Avoid collecting planting materials from infected garden.Establish nursery about 500m away from the plantation in order to avoid aphid colonization.Maintain the garden clean from old cut tillers and weeds so as to control aphid colonization.Sterilization of the tools by dipping in hot water for half an hour before harvesting or cleaning of the healthy field is important to avoid mechanical transmission of the disease.