Pests continue to bug Bt cotton growers

Pests continue to cause problems to growers despite the widespread and increasing use of genetically modified cotton in the country.

According to Dr C.D. Mayee, President of Indian Society for Cotton Improvement, farmers are not any more facing problems from the bollworm that led to the introduction of Bt cotton in the country.

This year, Bt cotton has been cultivated in 93 per cent of the total 118 lakh hectares of land under cotton.

Currently, sucking pests, mealy bug, para wilt, thrips, mirid bugs, jassids and pink bollworms are causing problems in cotton.

“Mealy bugs have been noticed in a number of places in the country,” Dr Mayee said, address a plenary session at the fifth World Cotton Research Conference here on Wednesday.

According to Dr Sandhya Kranthi, senior scientists with the Central Cotton Research Institute (CICR), Nagpur, a solution has been found to mealy bugs and sucking pests.

“For mealy bugs, we have come up with bio-insecticide. We have uploaded details on our Web site,” she said.

Last evening, presenting a paper on ““Emerging and key insects pests on Bt cotton," she said a team of entomologists has found a solution to the problem of sucking pests in Bt cotton. It is now awaiting Government approval to go ahead in implementing the solution, found under the All-India Cotton Project.

She said research findings by the team on emerging pests in Bt cotton will be presented to the Government early next year.

Though new problems with pests were emerging in Bt cotton across the world, the issue in India was slightly different, Dr Kranti said.

“Jassids are causing more damage in central and southern parts of the country,” she said.

Entomologists from the CCRI, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and State agricultural varsities are engaged in finding solutions to overcome these problems, she said.

In another presentation on “Global markets for organic cotton and India’s opportunities and challenges as primary producer", Ms Prabha Nagarajan of Textile Exchange said that the country contributed 80 per cent to the global cotton organic market. But tighter regulation through introduction of Tracenet, an online traceability system, was required as also availability of non-Bt cotton seeds.

Mr P. Ramasundaram, in his presentation on economic effects of GM cotton in India, said that there was a need for technology upgradation to counter the dampening effects of technology depreciation as years roll by.

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