Punjab was warned in July

The Central Integrated Pest Management Centre, based in Jalandhar, Punjab, had warned the state government about the presence of the whitefly pest in the standing cotton crop in July.

The pest which was then at a formative state, has been a recurrent problem for the cotton crop of Punjab. However, it has wreaked havoc this year because of an extended dry period in the main cotton growing regions of the state. The situation was further worsened by the poor dissemination of information, and the presence of spurious pesticides in the market.

Officials said, the central government had sent several advisories to the state in August, warning about the problem. The matter was also discussed at the north zone rabi conference held at the end of August, where the state authorities were told about the need to use integrated pest management practices.

In August, the Centre had sent a team of officials to the districts of Mansa, Bhatinda,

Patiala and Mukhtsar, which form the main cotton growing belt in the state. It had also visited Haryana.

The team, during its visits in the region, found improper usage of pesticide, wrong safety gears, poor advice and guidance, and wrong dosage of pesticide to be among the causes for the sudden spurt in white fly attacks. “It was noted most farmers relied on the recommendations of pesticide dealers rather than agriculture experts, which lead to over-dose or insufficient dose of pesticides in wrong combinationsm, making them ineffective,” a senior official said.