In Punjab, area under cotton cultivation dips to lowest since 2010
As Punjab has missed cotton sowing for the 2022-23 kharif season target by 38% to enhance the area under cotton cultivation to 4 lakh hectares, it ended up at the lowest since 2010.
As Punjab has missed cotton sowing for the 2022-23 kharif season target by 38% to enhance the area under cotton to 4 lakh hectares, it ended up at the lowest since 2010.

Poor availability of irrigation support management is blamed for lesser sowing of the cash crop.
As per data from the state agriculture department, this year 2.47 lakh hectare area of eight districts was covered with the cash crop.
This year, it was 4,000 hectares less than the area in 2021-22 when 2.51 lakh hectares were used to sow cotton.
Official sources said 2.47 lakh hectares was the provisional data for the 2022-23 season and the actual area may be audited lower after a field survey by the state revenue authorities.
Data says in 2011-12, a total of 5.16 lakh hectares was under cotton which was the highest in the last 13 years.
In 2010-11, 4.84 lakh hectares was used to cultivate the traditional crop in the semi-arid region of Punjab, and till 2015-16, the state witnessed more than 3 lakh hectares under cotton.
In 2015, Punjab witnessed a widespread attack of whitefly when crop on more than 3 lakh hectares was severely affected.
Even as Punjab did not witness an attack by the deadly whitefly from 2016 onwards, the cotton area could not touch the figure of 3-lakh hectares thereafter.
In 2019-20, 2.48 lakh hectare was under cultivation of cash crop. In 2021-22, the cotton belt witnessed the worst ever infestation of the deadly pink bollworm that caused considerable damage to the yield.
According to the agriculture department’s joint director (cash crop) Harinder Singh, this year key cotton-growing Bathinda and Mansa districts saw a downward trend in cotton cultivation than 2021-22.
“Last year, 79,000 hectares was under cotton and it slipped significantly to 62,000 hectares. Similarly, Mansa had 52,000 hectares for cotton which came down to 46,000 hectares,” said the official.
The data says Fazilka saw a surge of 13,000 hectares to 97,000 hectares in the current season whereas in 2021, it was 84,000.
Another key cotton-growing district witnessed an increase from 32,000 hectares in 2021 to 37,000 hectares this year.
Fazilka chief agriculture officer (CAO) Resham Singh said the lack of adequate water due to a breach in the Sirhind Feeder canal was the main reason that the district could not achieve the target of 1.03 lakh hectares.
“Besides non-availability of ample canal water supply, lack of electricity also led to less sowing of the cotton. Since most of the cotton area is canal-fed, farmers were unable to use tubewells to irrigate fields due to an erratic power supply this time,” said Mansa CAO Manjit Singh.
In figures
2022-23 kharif season Total 2.47 lakh hectares
Dists area in hectares
Fazilka 97,000
Bathinda 62,000
Mansa 46,000
Muktsar 37,000