Disease in cotton crop: Due to natural virus, cotton bolls are rotting and falling off.
Ahilyanagar Maharashtra: Cotton bolls were rotting and bolls were falling off during the Kharif season in Ahilyanagar district. Farmers had complained that this was happening due to bad seeds. After this, the District Level Committee of the Agriculture Department, along with a team of scientists from Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, inspected the cotton crops of the complaining farmers and submitted a report. It was told that boll rot and boll shedding of cotton was not caused by bad seeds but due to the spread of a natural virus and the complaints of the farmers have been resolved.
Cotton is cultivated in about 1.5 lakh hectare area in Ahilyanagar district. This year, due to continuous rains and heavy rains, Kharif crops have suffered huge losses in many areas. More than 100 farmers from Rahuri, Nevasa and Sangamner talukas had complained to the Agriculture Department that cotton growing companies had sold defective seeds. These include boll rot and cotton boll loss.
According to the complaint received by the Agriculture Department, the District Level Committee of the Agriculture Department first irrigated the cotton crop of the complaining farmer and then re-investigated it in collaboration with the scientist of Mahatma Phule Agriculture University. According to information received from Agriculture Department and University scientists, this year certain varieties of cotton were more affected by different viruses.
The cotton varieties of that company were more affected by the virus. Because of this, ball rot disease occurred in that variety of cotton and the cotton balls fell, causing huge losses. The scientist has given the investigation report in this regard to the Agriculture Department and more than 100 concerned farmers who complained.
Heavy damage to cotton due to heavy rains
Cotton crop in 2 lakh hectares has been affected due to heavy and continuous rains in the last monsoon in Ahilyanagar district. In this, rainfall reduces in the month of June. However, it starts increasing from July. In this, 8 hectares of cotton crop has been affected in July, 31.26 hectares in August and 1 lakh 71 thousand hectares in September. Because of this, farmers are saying that production has reduced this year.
