Whitefly attack: Next 7 days crucial, warn experts

During an inter-state consultative and monitoring committee meeting in Bathinda, experts expressed concern over the sharp decline in the area under cotton while farmers went against the advisory and cultivated summer moong in the southwest districts of Punjab.

Agriculture experts on Thursday said the next one week would be crucial for the whitefly attack in cotton fields and farmers need to be extra vigilant to contain the infestation.

During an inter-state consultative and monitoring committee meeting in Bathinda, experts expressed concern over the sharp decline in the area under cotton while farmers went against the advisory and cultivated summer moong in the southwest districts of Punjab. (HT File)

During an inter-state consultative and monitoring committee meeting in Bathinda, experts expressed concern over the sharp decline in the area under cotton while farmers went against the advisory and cultivated summer moong in the southwest districts of Punjab.

Deputy director, pulses, Dharampal Singh said this year the legume, which is host to the deadly whitefly, was sown on a record 56,000 hectares or 1.39 lakh acres in the four main cotton-growing districts of Fazilka, Bathinda, Muktsar and Mansa. “Nearly 80% of the moong crop has been harvested and the remaining is expected to be cut in another one week. Farmers need to be extra vigilant as the whitefly population tends to fly to cotton plants after moong is harvested. In the absence of rain, the ongoing humid weather is conducive for the whitefly,” he said.

Singh said a spell of shower will wash out a grave of threat whitefly attack.

The meeting was chaired by Punjab Agricultural University vice-chancellor Prof SS Gosal in which agriculture officials and farm experts from cotton-growing states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab gathered to audit the status of the cash crop and chalk our guidelines to mitigate challenges faced by the crop in this kharif season.

Prof Gosal said this year’s cotton crop target for Punjab was set at 2 lakh hectares but the state achieved less than half of it (97,000 hectares).

Bathinda chief agriculture officer Jagsir Singh apprised the gathering that this time cotton acreage in the key cotton-growing district is 14,500 hectares whereas in 2023 it was more than 50,000 hectares.