Haryana's cotton yield lowest in 20 years, 'pest-resistant' Bt variety a victim of pests and unseasonal rains
Cotton, Paddy are the main crops grown during Kharif season in Haryana. Diseases like pink bollworm and whitefly attack, leaf curl and parawilt are causing the decline in yield.
Chandigarh: Haryana has recorded the lowest cotton yield in two decades in 2022-23 even as the state has almost completely adopted genetically modified Bt cotton, which was introduced in northern India in 2005-06 as pest-resistant. , was introduced as a yield-improvement variety.
Attacks by pests such as pink bollworm and whitefly as well as diseases such as leaf curl and parawilt, plant burn due to excessive heat in the early days of planting and unseasonal rains have contributed to the decline in yield.
Cotton and paddy are the main crops grown in Haryana during the kharif season, covering most of the state's cultivable land. At 295.65 kg lint cotton per hectare, the yield is up 39 per cent from the 761.19 kg per hectare yield in 2013-14, according to state-wise data on the website of the textile commissioner's office.
According to the website of the textile commissioner's office, the state's yield was only 286.61 kg in 2002-03, down from the latest numbers. At that time American cotton was being grown in Haryana and the crop was attacked by American bollworm.
The idea behind introducing Bt cotton, engineered through the introduction of genes from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria found in most soils, was to protect the crop from repeated pest attacks.
Dr Rishi Kumar, head of the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), Northern Region, an institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said, “There are 1,326 types of pests that attack the crop. Bollgard-2 or BG-2 Bt cotton (currently being used) has been developed to protect against only four (types of pests) – American bollworm, pink bollworm, spotted bollworm and tobacco caterpillar.
“So, there are still 1,322 types of pests to attack the crop. Cotton provides the best micro-environment for any kind of insects and pests as it has lots of green leaves, fertilizers which provide nutrition and moisture which helps the organisms to grow,” he said.
Former CICR chief Dr. Dilip Monga also said that it would be wrong to blame any one factor for the low production of 2022-23. “Plants got burnt in the initial stage due to extremely hot weather conditions. This reduced the number of plants which ultimately affected the yield. Excessive rains in September led to parawilt and in some cases, waterlogging caused plant damage,” he told ThePrint.
Ram Pratap Sihag, joint director (cotton) in Haryana's agriculture and farmers' welfare department, who was tasked with promoting the cotton cultivation scheme, blamed pest attacks and a parawilt situation (sudden drop of leaves) due to excessive rains in September. blamed for the poor yield.
multiple pest infestation
“While 2017 saw an attack of whitefly, 2018 was hit by an attack of thrips – tiny insects the size of sewing needles that feed on the plant and turn mature leaves coppery brown or red. The next year, the pink bollworm attacked the cotton crop and has been causing damage since then,'' he adds.
Asked whether the Bt cotton varieties that came under attack were produced by known brands or some local brands, Kumar said the CICR recommends 40 to 50 brands that comply with the benchmark set by the ICAR. Are.
“The average yield of raw cotton in my fields was a little less than 5 quintals. The price of Rs 7,000 per quintal cannot even cover the cost of seeds, pesticides, diesel, tractor rent and labour. At this cost, farmers can think of any profit only when the yield is above 8 quintals per acre,” said Gurdial Mehta, a farmer from Panjuana village in Sirsa. Mehta said that his fields have produced up to 12 quintals of cotton per acre in the past.
Haryana and Cotton
Haryana's yield was slightly better at 351.76 kg per hectare in 2021-22.
Out of 30.81 lakh hectares of cultivable land in Haryana, the state agriculture department has set a target of cotton cultivation on 7 lakh hectares in 2023-24. According to the weekly statement released by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on June 20, the crop has been sown only in 6.27 lakh hectares.
"The figures are provisional but we expect the area to be more than 6 lakh hectares... It is still more than last year's 5.75 lakh hectares," said Sihag, quoted earlier.
