The cotton crop in North India is under the threat of pink bollworm (PBW) attacks and the intensity of pest attacks is seen higher this year compared to the last two years.

While PBW was observed in cotton only at the end of the season in North during kharif 2022-23, this year the pest has surfaced at the start of the season, which is a big threat for the farmers, said Bhagirath Chaudhary, Director of Jodhpur-based South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC).

Generally, the PBW affects the crop at mid-and late-stage causing yield reduction and impacting quality. Till 2017-18, the North cotton-growing zone of India was free from PBW infestation, but pest attacks above the economic threshold levels (ETL) were reported from Jind and Bathinda from 2018-19 and in the subsequent years.

Cutting coverage

Despite a decline in the coverage in Punjab, the area under cotton in the North Zone consisting of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is up at 16.17 lakh hectares (lh) compared with 15.44 lh. Impacted badly by the pest attacks such as white flies and pink bollworms in recent years, farmers in Punjab have reduced the area to 1.7 lh compared with 2.54 lh last year.

In Haryana, farmers increased cotton coverage to 6.65 lh over 6.45 lh a year ago. The early rains brought about by Cyclone Biparjoy this year have helped farmers in Rajasthan to increase the acreages to 7.82 lakh ha, an increase of 21 per cent over 6.45 lh a year ago. As on August 11, overall cotton acreages stood marginally lower at 121.28 lh over 122.53 lh a year ago.

According to the ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, in early sown areas such as Bhatinda and Faridkot in Punjab, the cotton crop is in flowering and boll formation stages and the incidence of PBW was near the ETL of 5-12 per cent.

Curtailing damage the key

The incidence of white fly and cotton leaf curl virus was observed in a few locations. In Haryana’s Hisar and Sirsa, the pink bollworm infestation was observed above the ETL levels in flowers and green bolls in several locations. In other cotton-growing regions, the crop is in vegetative stages.

SABC through its Project Bandhan has been regularly surveying the cotton fields in North and observed that pink bollworm was being seen more in green bolls. “It is a matter of great concern that this season’s incidence of pink bollworm has been observed in the whole of North Zone. We should take the necessary steps for the management of pink bollworm as soon as possible so that the damage caused by pink bollworm in cotton can be reduced,” he said.

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