FAC Advises Farmers To Vacate Cotton Fields For Wheat Sowing

The Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) Thursday advised farmers to immediately remove cotton sticks from their fields and make it ready for wheat sowing pleading that November was the best sowing time to get better wheat yield

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Dec, 2019 ) : The Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) Thursday advised farmers to immediately remove cotton sticks from their fields and make it ready for wheat sowing pleading that November was the best sowing time to get better wheat yield.

The observations were made in the 14th FAC meeting jointly chaired by Director Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Dr Zahid Mahmood and CCRI Sakrand Director Hidayatullah Bhutto here.

Farmers can also apply Rotovator to mix cotton sticks in soil to improve fertility and get the soil analyzed before sowing wheat for need-based application of fertilizers.

Mixing cotton sticks in soil through Rotovator could improve presence of organic material and this could also be achieved by applying dung fertilizers in empty fields, the CCRI Multan spokesman said in a statement.

The FAC also issued an advisory for cotton farmers applicable till Dec 15. The silver fibre crop was passing through its last stage of harvest.

The experts said that in areas where cotton crop was still standing, farmers should pick cotton flower only after dew is dried.

In case the harvested cotton gets wet somehow then it should be dried first before storage.

If farmers need cotton sticks as fuel wood then they should instal pheromone traps in the heaps of cotton sticks to kill pink bollworm. Cotton sticks be rested against a wall and their position be changed after every few days to expose pink bollworm before sunlight to kill it.

Farmers should leave animals in their empty field vacated by cotton to let them eat remains of the crop like bolls and leaf.

Cotton farmers were also advised to get their stored cotton ginned from cotton factories and seed so obtained be exposed before the sunlight to get it dry. The seed should be stored at a secure and airy facility. Help from some technically skilled person be sought to prepare seed for sowing for the next cotton season.

Germination strength of cotton seed should at least be 40-60 per cent for sowing.

Heads of different wings of the CCRI Multan and the CCRI Sakrand attended the meeting.