Efforts to protect BT cotton from pink bollworm in Rajasthan, workshops to be held in 124 gram panchayats

A district-level workshop was organized in the Collectorate Auditorium on the subject of pink bollworm control in BT cotton in Jaipur. District Collector Namrata Vrishni said that to prevent pink bollworm infestation in BT cotton, farmers should be given special information regarding monitoring and control of the outbreak of this disease and they should be made aware. He said that farmers should not sow any variety of cotton seeds obtained from unknown sources. To prevent fake seeds, the Agriculture Department should form a committee and inspect seed sellers from time to time.
Meeting with farmers & cotton seed-selling companies
The District Collector said that the team of the Agriculture Department should visit the field and get feedback on the crops from the farmers. He also instructed all the subdivision officers to hold meetings with farmers and cotton seed-selling companies to create awareness about the management of pink bollworms. Through awareness programs, the outbreak of pink bollworm in the upcoming cotton crops can be eliminated and the crops can be saved from widespread damage.
Joint Director Kailash Chaudhary said that before the upcoming cotton sowing, the owners of cotton ginning mills and farmers should destroy the residual material after ginning for the management of BT cotton residue. Manage BT cotton plantations properly so that the outbreak of pink bollworm can be stopped at the initial stage.
Workshops will be held in 124 gram panchayats
Chaudhary said that workshops on the control and management of pink caterpillars will be organized in 124 gram panchayats in the district till March 20. Free pamphlets and literature on the subject of the management of pink bollworms will be distributed to the farmers. He appealed to the farmers, vendors, and field staff present to ensure the participation of maximum farmers in the workshops.
How to protect crops from insect attack
Dr. Keshav Mehra, an entomologist of Agricultural University gave detailed information on the damage caused to the cotton crop by pink bollworms and the different stages of the life cycle of the insect. He said that the stored cotton should be covered so that the pink bollworm moths would not be able to lay eggs on the crop in the fields. He said that the effect of pink bollworm is more due to climate change in the district, increase in temperature due to moisture accumulation, and raw cotton brought to ginning mills to extract fibers and cottonseed. Therefore, the ginning mill owners must destroy the cotton waste material in time.
Principal Entomologist Dr. Hanuman Prasad Deswal advised farmers and ginning mill owners to get information about the effect of pests by installing pheromone traps and moth traps around their fields and ginning mills. He also provided information about chemical pesticides for pest control.Officers and employees of the Agriculture Department, scientists of the Agricultural University, cotton ginning owners of the district, representatives of BT cotton-producing companies, and farmers participated in this workshop
Source: Krishakjagat