Yellow Sticky Cards Smart Way To Save Cotton From White Fly; CCRI Chief Advises Farmers

Director, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Dr. Zahid Mahmood Monday advised the farmers to install yellow sticky pheromone cards/boxes in cotton fields for better white fly management without applying pesticides spray

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2021 ) :Director, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Dr. Zahid Mahmood Monday advised the farmers to install yellow sticky pheromone cards/boxes in cotton fields for better white fly management without applying pesticides spray.

In a statement issued here, the CCRI Multan chief said that the smart technique, introduced by CCRI Multan scientists, has so far proven effective in combating white fly problem in cotton fields.

Dr. Zahid explained that yellow colour attracts white fly and once the fly sits on the yellow card or box it sticks there and becomes unable to fly due to the sticky material. It stops or controls white fly population increase significantly and plug chances of population flare up.

These cards or boxes are installed at all the four sides of the cotton fields and in the middle adding that 8-10 cards or boxes were sufficient for an acre.

He said that yellow sticky pheromone boxes were available in markets in different sizes. If a box has a size of 15x10 inch then its area would be 150 square inch and if an inch can trap 300 white flies or Aphid then it means that it can kill 4500 flies. Thus, ten (10) cards per acre would kill 45000 flies per acre per day, he said.

Dr. Zahid said that the technique has also proved successful against white fly in other crops. He said that number of boxes can be increased in case of intense white fly attack.