Minister visits cotton fields to take stock of bollworm attack

Tribune News Service

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Mansa, June 22

After causing a substantial damage to the cotton crop for the last two years, pink bollworm infestation is beginning to spread its tentacles again.

The attack has started from Mansa district and today Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian visited the fields along with MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali along with senior agriculture department officials.

During the visit to the fields, the minister said he would talk to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tomorrow to protect the crop from pink bollworm. If the need arose, the government would provide free medicine to farmers. He said the cotton crop was connected with the economy of Malwa. The community group had also been formed and orders had been issued to agricultural officers and other experts to camp in the fields to save the crop.

Meanwhile, Joint Director of the department Jagdeep Singh appealed to farmers to destroy false flowers planted on the crop, because these did not have any effect on the yield. Destroying these, the appearance of pink bollworm could be eliminated up to some extent and further its second generation could also be controlled.

The Director of Agriculture Department also visited the fields. Meanwhile, Director, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Dr Gurwinder Singh visited the fields of Thoothiyawali and Karamgarh Autanwali villages of Mansa district and told the farmers not to create panic as the department was geared up to protect their fields.

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