Mealy bug may trim Punjab’s cotton harvest
Cotton crop in Punjab is threatened by ‘mealy’ bug, an insect which feeds on plant juices, greenhouse plants and other sub-tropical trees.
By PTI |
CHANDIGARH: Cotton crop in Punjab is threatened by ���mealy��� bug, an insect which feeds on plant juices, greenhouse plants and other sub-tropical trees. The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), in a survey, recently discovered this peculiar insect feeding on weeds in some cotton fields.
���We have found some isolated cases of mealy bug appearance on cotton fields. But the pest is mainly concentrated on weeds in cotton growing areas because of favourable weather conditions for its multiplication,��� said a project co-ordinator in PAU, AK Dhawan. Punjab witnessed a decline of 3.2 lakh bales from total cotton output of 26.7 lakh bales in 2006-07 to 23.6 lakh bales in 2007-08.
���Mealy bug attack on cotton was the prime reason behind fall in cotton output in Punjab,��� said a senior officer of Punjab agriculture department. ���The enormity of the attack of mealy bug was so severe on cotton last year that cotton growers in some areas have even switched over to cultivation of paddy to avoid losses,��� he said.
Citing use of hybrid varieties of cotton seeds as another reason for pest attack, an expert said: ���Farmers have been using spurious Bt cotton seeds after sourcing them from other states at cheaper rates which also resulted into attack of pest as these seeds are more prone to the mealy bug attack.���
���We have found some isolated cases of mealy bug appearance on cotton fields. But the pest is mainly concentrated on weeds in cotton growing areas because of favourable weather conditions for its multiplication,��� said a project co-ordinator in PAU, AK Dhawan. Punjab witnessed a decline of 3.2 lakh bales from total cotton output of 26.7 lakh bales in 2006-07 to 23.6 lakh bales in 2007-08.
���Mealy bug attack on cotton was the prime reason behind fall in cotton output in Punjab,��� said a senior officer of Punjab agriculture department. ���The enormity of the attack of mealy bug was so severe on cotton last year that cotton growers in some areas have even switched over to cultivation of paddy to avoid losses,��� he said.
Citing use of hybrid varieties of cotton seeds as another reason for pest attack, an expert said: ���Farmers have been using spurious Bt cotton seeds after sourcing them from other states at cheaper rates which also resulted into attack of pest as these seeds are more prone to the mealy bug attack.���
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