Agri Dept forms teams to check sale of spurious cotton seeds

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Advertisement

Bathinda, March 28

After a huge quantity of spurious cotton seed from Gujarat made their way into the state last year, the Agriculture Department has increased vigil to keep tabs on traders.

The Agriculture Department has formed various teams and deputed them on the borders of Haryana and Rajasthan.

Bathinda Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Dilbagh Singh said 48 Agricultural Development Officers and seven Agricultural Extension Officers had been deputed in the district to ensure that spurious cotton seed from outside the state does not reach the market.

He said the teams at block and circle level would also keep an eye on illegal seeds. He said a six-member surveillance team had been set up in the district. He appealed to the farmers to go to the government portal and apply online for purchasing cotton seed. By doing so, the farmers would get good quality seed along with 33 per cent subsidy, he said.

Last year, spurious cotton seed from Gujarat was sown in this cotton belt. Farmers who planted this particular seed suffered financial losses. In many cases, the cotton crop didn’t bear fruit at all.

In 2021, whitefly and pink bollworm caused massive damage to the cotton crop, after which some people sold seeds procured from Gujarat to the farmers ensuring that this variety was whitefly resistant.

Over 50 officers deputed

A total of 48 Agri Development Officers and seven Agricultural Extension Officers have been deputed in the district to ensure that spurious cotton seeds from outside the state do not reach the market. — Dr Dilbagh Singh, CAO, Bathinda