Cotton hybrids need to be explored for better yield: Pawar

NEW DELHI: There is an immediate need to explore hybrid varieties of cotton and adopt new technologies to ensure high yield as also contain production costs, feels Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

His views on use of hybrid seeds find mention in 'Fast Forward,' a compilation of interviews and speeches, edited by Aroon Tikekar and published by Rohan Books.

"The per hectare productivity needs to be improved drastically, hybrid varieties need to be explored," Pawar said in one of the interviews.

Hybrid varieties ensures high yield as well as healthy crops as they have high disease resistance potency, he added.
Similarly, he said, genetically modified crops also provide vitamins which are vitally essential for humans. Quoting the example of 'Golden Rice', he said the vitamin 'A' rich paddy variety is likely to mitigate vision problems.

Outlining the cotton problem in Vidarbha, the minister said the cropping technique in the region needs to be modified. "More area needs to be irrigated, and such land should be utilised for cultivation of cotton. Ideally, even two cropping rounds could be supported annually," he said.

"Even the GM Cotton could be tried out," he said. He pointed out that though Bt cotton seeds is banned, Punjab farmers have procured it from Gujarat and Maharashtra.

As regards genetically modified crops, cotton is the only one in the country that is allowed for commercial cultivation.

India currently produces 31.5 million bales of 170 kg each, which constitutes 20 per cent of the total global production. The total export was 90 lakh bales in 2007-08.