Due to the unseasonal rains this year the attack of white fly pest on cotton crop has taken serious proportions. Giving information in this context here today the director agriculture department Dr Mangal Singh Sandhu stated that cotton cultivation is encouraged under crop diversification program and the farmers are regularly educated about the crop, pests that attack it and the solution to problem.Dr Sandhu said that the farmers of cotton growing region can use Central Insecticide Board recommended pesticides for white fly and mealy bug attack. These include Oberon pesticides of Bayer and Do Tara medicine of the Pioneer company. The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has also recommended these medicines.He added that as per the guidelines of the Government of India, the cotton region farmers are provided these medicines at 50 percent subsidy.
Before providing these to the farmers, the batch wise samples of pesticides are tested for their quality at Pesticide Testing Laboratory and then distributed to farmers. He added that the farmers have thanked the department for providing these medicines. As per farmers, had these medicines not been available in time, more damaged would have been caused to the cotton crop.The agriculture department is promoting judicious use of these pesticides through pamphlets, newspaper advertisements, radio, TV and announcements are being made in villages through temples and gurudwaras. He added that to save the crop, it was recommended to spray 4 to 5 times the recommended medicines.
For this, the agriculture department staff members in field are educating farmers at district, block and village level and the farmer friends have also been included in it. He said that the farmers should also educate their farmers about the ways to control to pests in cotton fields.He appealed the farmers to participate in the camps that department organizes and follow the recommendations made. He also added that the pesticides should be sprayed before 10 am and after 4 pm. The spray should be done using knapsack under the leaves so that the whitefly larvae are killed.Thereafter, the cotton crop should immediately be watered. He said that the white fly pest flourishes in dry soil and hence the cotton crop should be irrigated properly. He also added that more than two pesticides should not be mixed to spray and the PAU recommended pesticides should only be used.
The Chief Minister Punjab had earlier conducted a meeting regarding white fly attack wherein the agriculture minister, chief secretary, additional principal secretary revenue, finance commissioner development, DC of the cotton belt and Chief Agriculture Officers, director agriculture and other state level officials were present. At meeting, the CM had decided that agriculture department and revenue officers will form team to conduct special girdawaris of the affected areas.