IMD’s Agrimet division has advised farmers in Andhra Pradesh to spray fungicide on standing paddy crop due to outbreak of sheath blight disease and leaf folder pests in some parts of the state. Sheath blight, a fungal infection, leads to formation of lesions and production of empty grains, thereby reducing crop yield. Farmers in the state had sown paddy over 1.4 MHa in 2017-18 kharif season, up 3.4% from last year.