128 teams formed to control pest in cotton crop
The Punjab department of agriculture and farmer welfare on Monday formed 128 pest surveillance teams under the supervision of two joint director-level officers for regular monitoring of the cotton crop to avert insect attack.
The Punjab department of agriculture and farmer welfare on Monday formed 128 pest surveillance teams under the supervision of two joint director-level officers for regular monitoring of the cotton crop to avert insect attack. The teams have been constituted in the cotton cultivating districts of Muktsar, Fazilka, Faridkot, Moga, Bathinda, Mansa, Barnala and Sangrur.
Agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said these teams have been tasked with visiting cotton fields and conduct pest surveillance, besides guiding farmers to take pest control measures whenever required. He said officials inspected cotton fields of 73 villages in Fazilka district on Monday and found three active spots of pink bollworm and eight active spots of whitefly in Khuian Sarwar block.
Officials concerned were directed to ensure application of the recommended pesticides in their presence. “To spread the message at the grassroots level, the department has also organised awareness camps in 989 villages in the major cotton districts to sensitise the farmers to cotton cultivation practices and effective management against various pests and other diseases,” the minister added.
Agriculture director Jaswant Singh said officials visited a few cotton fields for inspection. Mansa’s chief agriculture officer reported that a team visited the cotton field of a farmer, Balkar Singh, in Sahnewali village where a minor pink bollworm attack was spotted. The farmer was advised to use recommended pesticides to bring the situation under control.