The cotton farmers of Punjab have been troubled by the problem of spurious seeds for a long time. To overcome this problem, the Agriculture Department has taken a step. Bathinda Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Dilbag Singh said that 48 Agriculture Development Officers and seven Agriculture Extension Officers have been deputed in the district to ensure that spurious cotton seeds from outside the state do not reach the market.
He said that teams at block and circle level would also keep an eye on illegal seeds. He said that a six-member monitoring team has been formed in the district. He appealed to the farmers to apply online by visiting the government portal for the purchase of cotton seeds. By doing this, farmers will get good quality seeds with 33 per cent subsidy.
Last year, fake cotton seed from Gujarat was sown in this cotton belt. The farmers who sowed this special seed had to bear the economic loss. In many cases, the cotton crop did not bear fruit at all.
In 2021, whitefly and pink bollworm caused heavy damage to the cotton crop, after which some people sold seeds purchased from Gujarat to farmers, to ensure that the variety was whitefly resistant.
