Karnal, Aug. 1 -- Scientists from the Rice Research Station (RRS) in Kaul, Kaithal, a regional research centre under Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, have found traces of Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus, also known as Fiji virus, in several villages across Haryana's paddy belt.

After three days of field surveys, the scientists said that they have detected the spread of virus in Kaithal, Karnal and Kurukshetra districts, while there have been reports from Ambala and Yamunanagar districts as well.

Farmers in the belt now fear widespread damage due to crop dwarfing, which also occurred in the region last year. They claim some farmers have already destroyed their transplanted paddy to restart transplantation ...