Farmers continue to uproot cotton crop, agri dept in denial

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 23

Several farmers in Bathinda and Mansa continue to uproot their cotton crop following the alleged whitefly attack on their crops. However, officials of the Agriculture Department are unwilling to admit the attack as a cause of uprooting of the cotton crop. They claim that the whitefly attack had not crossed the ET level anywhere in the district.

Amrik Singh, a farmer of Bhucho Kalan in Bathinda district, had uprooted his crop recently on Friday. He claimed of having uprooted his three acres including the one acre taken on lease after witnessing whitefly and jassid attack on his crops.

In May this year, a farmer Charanjit Singh of Tungwali in Bathinda district, who owns 1.5 acres of land, first reported whitefly attack on cotton crop following which he uprooted his BT cotton sown in one acre but the Agriculture Department did not rectify the problem and claimed it was an attack of mites. A team of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) under the leadership of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s Bathinda Director Jatinder Singh Brar, too, had visited in village then to verify whitefly attack.

Chief Agriculture Officer Bathinda, NS Aulakh, said, “The whitefly attack is under control and the recent rains had also reduced it a lot. Even earlier, it had not crossed the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) which means not more than six pest of whitefly per leaf. Many a times, the farmers had feared the pest attack of mites or jassid pest as whitefly. A number of farmers, who had got connections of motors making them available the water for irrigation, had uprooted their crop to sow paddy or basmati crop.”

It’s noteworthy that last year, too, the farmers witnessed the attack of whitefly on cotton crop following which the farmers in the cotton belt faced huge losses. The farmers had then alleged the supply of recommended pesticide as spurious that damaged the crops as pesticides failed to curb whitefly. The farmers then staged a series of protests demanding compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre for damage but the government, however, released Rs 8,000 per acre as compensation for the damaged crop. However, a number of paddy growers took compensation while many genuine farmers were still waiting for the compensation announced by the government.

‘Whitefly attack under control’ 

The whitefly attack is under control and the recent rains have also reduced it a lot. Even earlier, it had not crossed the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) which means not more than six pest of whitefly per leaf. Many a times, the farmers had feared the pest attack of mites or jassid pest as whitefly. A number of farmers, who had got connections of motors making them available the water for irrigation, had uprooted their crop to sow paddy or basmati crop — NS Aulakh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Bathinda