Punjab whitefly attack: Centre to test 1,000 pesticide samples

NEW DELHI: Worried about cotton crop damage by whitefly pests in Punjab, the Centre today said it will test 1,000 samples of pesticides to check if spurious ones were sold to growers and take action based on lab reports.

The Punjab government has already sent these samples to the Union Agriculture Ministry.

On reports of farmers suicides, the state government has informed the Centre that district collectors have been asked to investigate each case and submit report by October 16.

Punjab farmers are seeking higher compensation for crops damaged in whitefly attack for the past two days.

"We had offered to provide lab facilities to test the pesticides quality. Accordingly, the Punjab government has sent 1,000 samples. Based on the reports, action will be taken," a senior Agriculture Ministry official told PTI.

After noticing a sudden surge in whitefly pest in cotton crops in Punjab, the official said the ministry had issued an advisory mentioning names of 30 pesticides and five pesticide combinations that can be used to control the pest attack.

Subsequently, the ministry had sent a team of experts from the Directorate of Plant Protection to Punjab and Haryana, which found fields infested with the pest.

"At the zonal meeting for preparing a strategy for rabi season, this issue was discussed in detail. The remedial measures were suggested to the state. Later, the state government had also launched a campaign to check if spurious pesticides were sold in the market," the official added.

The Malwa region has been worst affected by whitefly pest and the adjoining places are reported to have the same pest attack on cotton crop, the official added.

Asked about reports of farmers suicides due to the crop damage, the official said, "We enquired about the suicides with the Punjab government. It told us that the district collectors will submit the report by October 16 after investigating whether suicides were related to agrarian reasons."

Asked about the extent of damage and likely fall in cotton production, the official said it has still not been ascertained as the state government is in the process of collecting the field data.

Total area under cotton crop in Punjab is about 4.5 lakh hectares.