Farmers debate how to combat the threat of pink bollworms

Singh Chaudhary Charan Farmers and agricultural experts are becoming more concerned about the possibility of a pink bollworm epidemic in cotton fields in the northern part of the nation, according to Professor BR Kamboj, Vice-Chancellor of Haryana Agricultural University (HAU).

Today, a number of parties, including scientists studying agriculture, government representatives, and representatives of several seed companies, convened at the HAU to deliberate on the issue at hand. Participants at the conference included farmers’ representatives from districts that produce cotton, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, and other areas.

The venture capitalist said that in order to address the issue, they would need to act as a team and prevent farmers from suffering significant financial losses. There was a high rate of pink bollworm last year. The producers’ careless usage of pesticides is cause for alarm. With the combined efforts of all stakeholders, biological pesticides and other pest management strategies will need to be found in order to control this problem, he said.

It is recommended that farmers not store the branches of their harvested cotton plants in the fields since this increases the possibility of the bug returning the following year. By May 15, farmers should only plant cultivars that have been endorsed by agricultural colleges and authorized by BT. According to the experts, farmers should check their fields after seeding cotton and take appropriate action to reduce pink bollworm infestations if they are detected. They should also avoid combining fungicides and insecticides.

The status report on the work done for the management of pink bollworm via all of the university’s agricultural science centers was given by Dr. Balwan Singh Mandal, Director of Extension Education.

The pink bollworm epidemic that is expected to affect the state’s cotton harvest in 2023 was thoroughly examined by Dr. Karmal Singh, the head of the cotton division. Information about the state of cotton and the pink bollworm epidemic in their respective states was exchanged by Dr. Satnam Singh, senior scientist at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, and Dr. Pradeep Kumar, scientist at Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner.

RP Sihag, Joint Director (Cotton) of the Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, provided details on the department’s operations.

The issues surrounding cotton and its management in North India were addressed by Dr. Rishi Kumar, the director of the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), located in Sirsa.

Meanwhile, key recommendations for managing and controlling pink bollworm were also made by representatives of private seed businesses. Farmers from several areas exchanged ideas and firsthand experiences.