Farmers Advisory Committee Discuss Locusts, Cotton Crop

Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) met here Tuesday at Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) and issued guidelines to cotton farmers for better production and how to minimize the damage from locusts swarms hitting south Punjab cropland these days

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2020 ) :Farmers Advisory Committee (FAC) met here Tuesday at Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) and issued guidelines to cotton farmers for better production and how to minimize the damage from locusts swarms hitting south Punjab cropland these days.

The second FAC meeting of the ongoing cotton season, chaired by CCRI Multan director Dr. Zahid Mahmood, included locusts as part of agenda for discussion just a day after swarms of locusts were seen flying over the Multan city and its suburbs besides hitting crops.

It was informed that locusts' presence in Sindh and Balochistan was alarming and now it has started hitting south Punjab agriculture area, says a release issued by CCRI Multan spokesman.

Farmers were advised to spray Lambda Cyhalothrin at the rate of 330ml in 120 litres of water per acre to tackle locust problem. Farmers were also advised to keep in contact with agriculture department to seek further advice as and when needed.

FAC also issued guidelines for fifteen days, applicable till May 31, for cotton crop.

Experts said that farmers who have not yet sown cotton should first get the seed treated with some suitable pesticide for protection against sucking pests, most notably Thrips and Jassid, for 35-40 days.

Farmers should sow only the registered seed varieties approved by the government and per acre seed application be decided keeping in view the seed germination strength.

In case of sowing on ridges, farmers should apply 4.5 kilogram of fur-free seed per acre with germination strength of 90 per cent. Five kilogram seed should be applied per acre in case of 75 per cent germination strength and 5.5 kilogram in case of germination strength of 60 per cent.

In case of sowing by drill, nine (9) kilogram seed having 90 per cent germination strength should be applied per acre.

Ten (10) kilogram seed be sown per acre in case of 75 per cent germination strength and eleven kilogram in case of 60 per cent germination strength.

Farmers should also arrange ten per cent more seed in addition to the quantity recommended.

FAC, however, said that farmers should sow seed with fur in areas where weather normally remains hot and dry.

Dr. Zahid said that farmers should select the sowing time keeping in view weather conditions and apply water in accordance with the weather updates regarding rain.

He said that recent rains have caused growth of weeds and advised farmers to adopt remedial measures for their removal. He said that weeds can cause 30-50 per cent production loss.

After trimming and having done necessary work to remove weeds, farmers should apply a bag of DAP or Nitrophos via drill in wet soil or with water application.

Farmers who had sown crop in April should apply 100ml Chlorfenapyr in 100 litres of water per acre in case of incidence of Thrips going beyond economic threshold level (ETL). In case of Jassid incidence beyond ETL, farmers should apply 40 gram Nitenpyram or spray 200ml in 100 litres of water per acre.

Meeting noted that according to a CCRI survey, incidence of pink bollworm has been noticed in some areas where cotton crop was entering fruit stage. Farmers should apply 100-120ml Spinetoram in 100 litres of water on crop per acre to contain pink bollworm.

Heads of different wings of CCRI Multan including Dr. Muhammad Idrees Khan, Dr. Fayyaz Ahmad, Ms Sabahat Hussain, Dr. Rabia Saeed, Dr. Muhammad Ahmad and Sajid Mahmood attended the meeting. Third meeting of FAC would be held on June 1, 2020 at CCRI Multan.