The Hindu Business Line : Tobacco streak virus, pests attack cotton crop in Warangal district

THOUSANDS of cotton farmers in the district are set to record poor cotton yields this time, with tobacco streak virus (TSV) and sucking pests such as jassids attacking the crop on lakhs of acres.

A senior scientist at the ARS (Agricultural Research Station) here told Business Line that this was the first time in the country that the TSV has attacked cotton.

Interestingly, non-Bt seeds sown alongside Bt seeds were hardly affected by the virus. In most cases, whatever little output the farmers got, it is from the non-Bt varieties and not from the Bt varieties.

Contrary to popular perception, the jassids caused more damage than the TSV, the ARS scientist said. The virus spread through pollen of the parthenium flower and not directly from one plant to another.

More farmers went in for RCH-2, a Bt variety, seeing very attractive output last year. "The RCH-2 is not resistant to the sucking pests. Cotton sown in paddy fields and low-lying areas also started withering due to heavy moisture in the soil. Micro-nutrient deficiency too contributed to the problem," said Dr M. Jayaraj, Joint Director (Agriculture).

Responding to queries through e-mail, Mr M. Ramasami, Executive Director of Raasi Seeds, which produces RCH-2, said: "No cotton variety is absolutely resistant to sucking insects like thrips, aphids, and whiteflies. The TSV supposed to have caused damage to cotton crop is transmitted by thrips. This pest is easily controllable by spraying specific systemic insecticide."

According to him, high incidence of thrips occurred due to certain changes in the environment like drought spell caused by high temperature. "This is normal and happened even before Bt cotton was introduced. The incidence of TSV was reported to be 1-2 per cent, which is not likely to affect yield."

He added: "Jassid tolerance is associated with hairiness in the leaf, which is less in this variety. However, jassids could have been easily controlled by timely insecticide sprays."

This year, cotton was sown on 3.67 lakh acres in the district, 62 per cent of it being Bt seeds. RCH-2 alone was used on 1.20 lakh acres. Interestingly, illegal Bt varieties (those not allowed in the State and imported from neighbouring States) were sown in 40,000-50,000 acres.

The virus attacked the crop at the vegetative phase, stunting growth. It spread fast through weeds. The officials of the Agricultural Department said heavy rains, first in July and then in September, are to be blamed for the outbreak of the virus.

"They (the farmers) had little time to react," they said, commenting on the widespread attack of the virus.

Though the officials claimed that only 50-60 bolls were seen on the plants, the farmers asserted that there were hardly 15-30 bolls.

The fact that the farmers were able to pluck only 2-3 bags of cotton from an acre showed the debilitating impact of the virus attack.

Mr S. Malla Reddy, Vice-President of the All-India Kisan Sabha (a farmers' body associated with the CPM), said that the Agricultural Department had stayed away from the scene over a period of time, while the Bt seed manufacturers had pepped advertising in rural areas.

Ms Kavitha Kuruganti, an activist of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, said that the emphasis on restricting on one problem (bollworm, through Bt) had upset the balance within the pest population.

"Bt varieties are more vulnerable to higher incidence of sucking pests than non-Bt ones," she added.

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