FAC Tells Farmers To Select Cotton Picking Time Based On Weather Conditions

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Aug, 2021 ) :The Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) Tuesday issued a fortnightly advisory for cotton farmers applicable till Aug 31 asking them to select picking or harvest time to collect white gold from fields keeping in view the weather conditions.

The cotton picking should start when over half of the cotton bolls are found open, says a statement issued by FAC which met here with Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Director Dr. Zahid Mahmood in the chair.

The farmers should remove weeds immediately upon noticing to plug chances of further spread and apply fertilizers and water in suitable quantity to lessen the damage in case the crop is found to be hit by virus. The FAC observed the crop was approaching fast to the harvest stage and must not remain water stressed or in want of fertilizers.

The crop where plants have gained 25-30 bolls should get 10-15 kilogram Urea through water application per acre to meet bolls' food requirement and improve their size. However, the crop where plants have just 8-10 bolls and the plants stopped gaining height then farmers should apply half bag of Urea per acre through water and repeat water after a week.

To support new fruit formation, farmers should apply half bag of Urea, or a bag of Calcium Ammonium Nitrate or a bag of Ammonium Sulphate through water.

To meet other food requirements and overcome deficiency of micronutrient, farmers should apply 300 gram Magnesium Sulphate, 300 gm Zinc Sulphate, 200 gm Boric Acid, 400 gm Potassium Nitrate or Potassium Sulphate powder and a kilogram of Urea. All these should be mixed in water separately and be applied in 100 liters of water per acre.

The farmers were further advised to install yellow sticky pheromone traps at the rate of 10 per acre to tackle pest attack. For pink bollworm management, farmers should install eight (8) pheromone traps per acre in the field. FAC further advised farmers to apply pesticides only after consulting agriculture officials when the pest attack reached economic threshold level (ETL).

Heads of different wings of CCRI Multan including Dr. Naveed Afzal, Dr. Idrees Khan, Dr. Fayyaz Ahmad, Ms Sabahat Hussain, Dr. Rabia Saeed and Sajid Mahmood attended the meeting. Next FAC meeting would be held on Sep 1, 2021.