Wary farmers to curtail cotton-sowing

Sameer Singh

Advertisement

Bathinda, April 23

Wary after the pink bollworm pest attack damaged the cotton crop in Malwa last year, a majority of farmers are likely to reduce the area under cotton cultivation this time while some have decided to sow other crops.

Experts say the area under cotton cultivation is likely to come down by 40 to 70 per cent.

This has come at a time when the production of cotton have dipped, but private players procured the crop at a rate higher than the MSP of Rs 6,025 per quintal. The produce had fetched more than Rs 12,000 per quintal last year.

Balkar Singh, a farmer from Khiali Chehlan Wali village in Mansa district, said: “Last year, I had sown cotton and wheat on six acres each. Pink bollworm damaged a large part of my cotton crop, resulting in low yield. All I got was 12 quintal from six acres — a drastic fall from 40 to 50 quintals from the same tract of land without the pest attack. This year, I have decided against sowing cotton.”

Rajinder Singh, another farmer from Khiali Chehlan Wali village, had sown cotton on eight acres last year, but suffered heavy losses.

“If the seed quality was bad, as it is being claimed, what action the state government has taken till now,” he asked.

Pakhar Singh, Chief Agricultural Officer, Bathinda, said: “The department has organised awareness camps to sensitise farmers on how to protect their crops from pest attacks.”