Go for early cotton harvest, ryots told
Hyderabad: The Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Warangal, has advised cotton farmers to go for an early harvest of their crop to avoid infestation by pink bollworm, which has become prevalent in certain parts of the State due to the ongoing cold weather. The farmers have been advised to use insecticides if the infestation is moderate and destruction of the stubble if the chemicals fail to yield expected results.
The pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) considered as native to India, is one of the most destructive pests of cotton. It bores into cotton devouring the cotton blooms and seed. Chief Scientist (Cotton) A Sudarshan of RARS, Warangal, in a statement on Friday, advised farmers to undertake spraying of Chlorpyrifos with cypermethrin, or profenophos with cypermethrin or chlorantraniliprole with lambda cyhalothrin by changing the chemicals two times every ten days.
“If the worm is not controlled by chemical sprays, then it is better to harvest it and destroy the fully uprooted stubble. As a follow-up crop, chickpea will be suitable in districts like Adilabad where winter is severe,” he said.
The Chief Scientist suggested alternative crops such as maize, sunflower, sesame, green gram to cotton which can be harvested during the first fortnight of February.
Farmers can also opt for watermelon, musk melon and vegetables in place of cotton to avoid pink bollworm infestation. The farmers were also advised to dispose of the infested cotton since the shelf life of such cotton will be very short and there is a danger of the worms spreading to the next crop.
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