Farmers advised to install pheromone traps in cotton fields
A capsule lures male pests into the traps. Regular monitoring indicates pest population in the fields through the trapped pests. SUKHDEV SINGH SIDHU, Punjab agriculture director
BATHINDA: Alarmed over last year’s pink bollworm outbreak in the cotton crop in Bathinda, the Punjab agriculture department has started a state-wide programme asking farmers to use a low-cost pheromone traps in fields to contain infestation of the deadly pest.
A pheromone trap uses chemicals secreted by insects to lure pests. One hectare area needs a trap that costs about Rs 60-80.
The pest attack in Bathinda district’s Jodhpur Romana village in August last year had left the cotton growers and farm experts worried. Cotton is sown over 3.3 lakh hectares in Punjab.
Principal entomologist of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Vijay Kumar said the first case of the pest attack among the cotton growing states in north India was noticed in Haryana’s Jind district in 2017.
“Bollgard 2, or BG-2, Monsanto’s second-generation insecticidal technology for cotton, was considered to protect crops against the pink bollworm. It cannot be ruled out that the pest has now grown resistant to the toxins produced by this trait. It is a deadly pest that appears when the cotton plant is in the flowering stage after 65-70 days of sowing,” Kumar said.
State agriculture director Sukhdev Singh Sidhu said the department is taking measures to check any incident of pink bollworm infestation. “We have advised farmers to install pheromone trap in fields. A capsule lures male pests in the traps. Regular monitoring indicates pest population in the fields through the trapped pests,” said Sidhu.
He said studies from last year’s infestation in Bathinda concluded that pest larvae reached the state with cottonseed consignments from southwest states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka.
“Oil mills and cotton ginning units across the state are being asked to follow a protocol to ensure the pest do not entre fields from where it could potentially harm the cotton crop. They have been instructed to sanitise the factories and remove cotton crop residue to contain the situation,” he said.
Paramjit Singh, director, PAU regional research station, Bathinda, said it is a challenging task to detect pink bollworm in time and control it through pesticide spraying as it stays inside a cotton boll.
“Cotton bolls look normal from outside. But each infected boll has a pink bollworm inside. The worm eats cotton seeds and prevents the development of cotton staple fibre around it well before the boll opens,” he said.