Cotton sowing: State still short of target by 24 pc : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Cotton sowing: State still short of target by 24 pc

CHANDIGARH: With ideal time for sowing already over by more than a week, Haryana has so far been able to achieve only 76 per cent of its target of cotton sowing.



Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 23

With ideal time for sowing already over by more than a week, Haryana has so far been able to achieve only 76 per cent of its target of cotton sowing.

The weekly report of the Agriculture Department for May 22 shows that cotton had been sown on 4.97 lakh hectares against the target of 6.48 lakh.

Agriculture experts recommend that cotton must be sown before May 15 for maximum yield and lower infestation by whitefly and leaf curl virus.

Sources attribute shortage of canal water in the cotton growing districts from the Bhakra canal system and lesser interest in the crop due to lower prices this year as reasons for the phenomenon.

Dr Dilip Monga, Head, Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), Sirsa, confirmed that the sowing this time was quite low both in Haryana as well as in Punjab despite their specific recommendations that it should be completed between April 15 and May 15.

He said late sowing could lead to infestations by whitefly and leaf curl virus thereby affecting the yield badly.

“In 2015-16, a year after one of the worst attack of whitefly and leaf curl virus on cotton crop in the region, the CICR had conducted trials in Northern India for the impact of these infestations on cotton sown on May 15 versus the crop sown on June 7. We found the infestations were much more in the late sown crop and the yield remained one-third in the crop sown on June 7 as against that sown on May 15,” said Dr Monga.

Gurdeep Singh Mann, a farmer from Kirpal Patti in Sirsa, said that failure of cotton last year and prolonged closure of the Bhakra canal were the major reasons for lower sowing.

“The recommended pre-irrigation for cotton sowing is canal water as it is much superior to any borewell water. Cotton growers kept waiting for canal water and the optimum time for cotton sowing was lost,” Mann said.

Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar said that things were beyond the control of the government as water in the Bhakra reservoir was short and the state was proportionately getting 2,000 to 2,500 cusecs less than normal supply.

“Due to lesser allocation of water these days, the farmers are getting water for one week followed by closure of channels for two weeks, while during heydays, it was two weeks of supplies followed by two weeks of closure,” Dhankar said.

Top News

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s death

Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari on Tuesday alleged that his brother...

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions...

Alka Rai, widow BJP MLA killed by Mukhtar Ansari, says 'justice has been served', visits Ram Mandir

Alka Rai, widow BJP MLA killed by Mukhtar Ansari, says 'justice has been served', visits Ram Mandir

Alka Rai is the wife of MLA Krishanand Rai, who was shot dea...

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh IT notice of Rs 1,700 crore, say party insiders

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh I-T notice of Rs 1,800 crore

Ajay Maken addresses a press conference

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

22 educational institutions were on CBI radar in the scholar...


Cities

View All