Experts For Adopting Integrated Approach To Overcome CLCUV

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2017 ) : Agriculture experts here on Tuesday urged the need for adopting integrated approach to tackle with the threats of cotton leaf curl virus (CLCUV) in order to minimize the crop damage across the glob.

Addressing a sustainability meeting of the project" improving resistance to cotton leaf curl virus (CLCUV), supporting cotton best management practices for small farmers, they said the virus can destroy 20-100 percent cotton crop.

They were of the view that the CLCUV was detected in 1912 in Africa where as it was find in Pakistan in 1967, adding that the virus was also poising threats for fields of other cash crop including fruits and vegetables.

The event was organized by International Center for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) Pakistan Office in collaboration with Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC). The event was aiming at to improve the cotton cultivation methods and create resistance in the crop against the CLCUV.

They stressed the need for introducing the easy diagnostic tracks and developing the resistance varieties and improving the management strategies to minimize the virus threats. The also called for implementing the methods to successfully transform the research results to small farmers by developing a new road map.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for National food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan said that cotton was the major cash crop of the country. The crop was comprising on about 57 percent of the total domestic exports besides fulfilling about 65 percent needs of the domestic edible oil, he added.

During last fiscal year, he said that national GDP was reduced by 0.2 percent due to decline in domestic cotton production, adding that government was making collaborative efforts to develop resistant cotton seed varieties to over come the CLCUV threats.

He informed that through the collaboration of ICARDA and USDA synergies in Federal and provincial agencies were developed and about 27,000 small farmers were trained on crop management. He said that farmers school and children club were the major initiative of the programme through which farmers at village level were trained and children were also educated about their ecological system.

Addressing the meeting Dr Brain Scheffler of US Department of Agriculture and ICARDA said that programme which would be concluded by the June was successfully implemented. He said that in Pakistan during last 6 years average 1.25 million bales worth of US$ 180 million were destroyed due to pest attacks on cotton crop.

He said that average 20-40 percent crop losses due to CLCUV attack, adding that USDA was listing virus on top 20 threats. He stressed the need for conducting a survey to determine where from the virus spreading, besides improving the institutional infrastructure and capacity building of human resource.

Addressing the event, Chairman PARC lauded the efforts of ICAERDA and USDA and expressed the hope that they would collaborate in future for the development of cotton crop across the glob.