‘Cotton must be picked before January to end PBW infestation’

With the cotton season in Maharashtra is about to stop, this yr also observed the continuous assaults of Pink Boll Worms (PBW) on the crop.

In purchase to split the everyday living cycle of PBW, the regional Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agriculture Universities have recommended farmers to terminate their cotton crop in Maharashtra by December.

Even so, the crops are even now in the fields in many cotton-developing districts. In accordance to the State Sowing Report on Oct ten for kharif season, the area less than the crop had reached forty two.eighty three lakh hectares, even though the normal is 41.eighty three lakh hectares. In big districts this kind of as Yavatmal, cotton was planted on four.65 lakh hectares and five.30 lakh hectares in Jalgaon.

Agriculture Scientist and Entomologist at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yavatmal, Pramod Magar explained that regardless of the advisories farmers go on to hold their cotton crop until January or February, which aids the PBW preserve the everyday living cycle until next sowing season (May possibly-stop or early June).

Breaking the cycle

The insect populace keeps raising major to assaults in the next season. As a result terminating the crop is essential to stop assaults of PBW. A gap desires to be produced in the feeding cycle of the pests, he explained.

Magar explained that in a PBW-infested plant, some cotton bowls stay partly wrecked with some cotton remaining in the bowls, for that reason, the farmers preserve this kind of diseased vegetation in the fields with a drive to get some residual cotton. Thanks to this kind of procedures, the populace keeps on obtaining constructed up major to assaults in the next season.

An formal at the Maharashtra Agriculture Commissioner business office explained that almost a person-3rd of the crop is even now standing in Yavatmal. Preferably, the farmers need to have been in the last stages of eliminating the crop and getting ready the soil for planting summertime crops. Even so, labour availability is also a dilemma in the Vidarbha region.

Temperature variable

In the primary cotton-developing regions of Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada locations in Maharashtra, winter sets by Oct.

The variance involving evening and working day temperature is ten-15°C, which is most favourable for the infestation of PBW, Magar explained.

Veteran cotton scientist and Vice-President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, CD Mayee, told BusinessLine that if the PBW infestation cycle has to be interrupted then the crop should be eradicated from the area by December or by newest January 15. In Punjab there are less incidents of PBW assaults because farmers just after next choosing of cotton remove the crop and make way for other crops this kind of as wheat.

Just after January 15, all the cotton plant stalks should be eradicated and wrecked or sent to biomass makers for earning briquettes.

When the temperature will increase in Maharashtra just after January, the solar aids in breaking the PBW in the soil, Mayee explained.

On the other hand, a cotton farmer from Yavatmal, Milind Damle explained that the farmers go on to hold their crop appropriate until January and February because they can select the cotton for the fourth or the fifth time. Residual cotton also has financial benefit, he explained.