Lahore-Agriculture experts say
it is high time for the agriculture department to educate
farmers who switched over to cotton crop from water-intensive
rice and sugarcane crops.
Experts say this year cotton is
sown on more area as compared to the last year in the
province. They say that growers followed the pattern due to
the prevailing dry spell at the time of sowing as the dry
weather is also assumed favourable for thick planting. But the
pre-monsoon rains have caused humidity, which is injurious to
thick planting. The Met office has been forecasting more rains
this year.
Humid weather invites pest
attacks on cotton. During early days of cotton plants' growth,
Jassid and pink bollworm become the main threat to them. Pink
bollworm is cotton specific that leaves yellow spot on silver
fibre, which cannot be removed even at the time of spinning.
The experts says although the
outlook of cotton crop at present is encouraging, humidity may
proliferate pest attacks. Currently, pink bollworm infestation
is reported from Khanewal, Pakpattan, Vehari, Faisalabad,
Jhang and Multan districts. Experts urge the agriculture
department to forewarn the cotton growers about pest attack
and timely impart them pest management techniques. They say
control of pink bollworm is highly desired if the government
is serious in producing cotton of international standard.
They also disapprove thick
planting saying in Australia cotton is picked through
mechanical operation and plant's height there is merely 3 to
3.5 feet against cotton plant height of 5.5 feet in Pakistan.
For mechanical picking such cotton varieties are sown which
bear fruit only on top of the plant. While in Pakistan, cotton
is still being hand picked and cotton plant bears fruit at
bottom. Due to thick planting, that too in humid weather, the
fruit at bottom of the plant becomes rotten, affecting the per
acre yield. The experts say 15,000 plants per acre on an
average are suitable with a distance of 12 to 15 inches
between every two plants.
