Fearing whitefly attack, cotton farmers uproot crop in Mansa
MANSA: Farmers uprooted the cotton crop growing in their fields, due to the presence of whitefly and protested in front of the agriculture department in Mansa on Monday. They were protesting against the alleged negligence of the department officials.
This came a day after agriculture director JS Bains visited a camp in Mansa, organised to create awareness about whitefly attack among the farming community. Farmers uprooted standing cotton crop due to presence of whitefly. Later, they protested against the district agriculture officer for not addressing the issue. “I had sown cotton on 3.5 acre and whitefly has damaged the crop. Despite using pesticide recommended by the agriculture department, presence of whitefly has not reduced,” said Malkit Singh of Khyala Kalan village.
Agriculture officials assured protesters of providing support to counter the effects of whitefly. More than 300 acre cotton crop sown on the land adjacent to the agriculture department office is hit by whitefly attack.
‘SCOUT BOYS, KISAN MELA A SHAM’
While the department claims that they have been monitoring the presence of whitefly by appointing one scout boy for two villages and frequently holding interactive sessions with the farmers, the ground-level situation is bad.
A scout boy appointed for Tamkot and an adjoining village denied of being aware about the presence of whitefly in the cotton field, where the crop was uprooted on Monday.
Farmers alleged that the department conducts awareness programmes without informing them. “We have never seen scout boys around here or attended the seminars. They hold the seminars when most farmers are out in the fields,” said Minder Singh of Behni Bagah village.
AGRICULTURE OFFICER DENIES CHARGES
District agriculture officer Gurdita Singh said that the presence of whitefly is above the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) though it can be neutralised with proper usage of pesticide as recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). “We acknowledge the presence of whitefly due to humid weather prevailing in the region. However, it will not damage the cotton crop. We have convinced the farmers not to uproot the crop,” he said.