Year 2021 To Be Of Cotton Revival: Secretary Agriculture

Secretary agriculture south Punjab Saqib Ali Ateel said on Friday that the 2021 would turn out to be the year, marking the revival of cotton with prospects of better production and sizable cut in cost, thanks to IPM model that kept pest pressure under control

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Sep, 2021 ) :Secretary agriculture south Punjab Saqib Ali Ateel said on Friday that the 2021 would turn out to be the year, marking the revival of cotton with prospects of better production and sizable cut in cost, thanks to IPM model that kept pest pressure under control.

During a visit to cotton fields in Muzaffargarh, Khangarjh, Rohillanwali and Ali Pur, Saqib said that farmers who had followed agriculture department's guidelines of delaying chemical spray application and relying mostly on botanical extracts sprays witnessed pest pressure under control while those who applied chemical pesticides from the very beginning suffered pest pressure and there was marked difference in production in initial picking.

Farmers, emboldened by the results so far, informed the secretary agriculture south that they would bring more area under cotton next year saying that cotton this year was likely to yield good profits.

Saqib said that next two weeks were important for cotton and advised farmers to keep rain affected cotton separately from the rest and forbade them from taking seed from rain affected cotton for next year sowing.

He said that Integrated Pest Management Model (IPM) involving sprays of botanical extracts would be advocated next year too adding that farmers' confidence has improved on IMP model due to better pest control results it yielded at significantly lower cost.

He asked farmers to apply sprays as per the guidelines. He observed there was marked reduction in pink bollworm attack on cotton in Muzaffargarh district but advised farmers not to fall victim to complacency and keep doing pest scouting. To control white fly, farmers should apply botanical extracts spray maintaining a gap of seven days.

He said that liquid mixture of (Kortumma) Colocynth 600 grams, tobacco 600 grams, Neem 600 grams, (Aak) Sodam Apple 600 gm and (Hing) Asafoetada 20 grams be cooled down. It then be mixed in a mixture of 125ml Spyrotetramate 240SC in 100 or 120 liters of water and then this liquid mixture be sprayed on the crop.

To control pink bollworm, he said, farmers should apply spray of 100 ml GemaSai Belothrine plus two kilogram tobacco, and one kilogram Neem leaf. Spray should be applied in the morning or evening, he added.