Hot, dry weather enhances whitefly attack scare; experts say timely detection the key
BATHINDA: As incidents of pink bollworm have started surfacing from the cotton fields of Mansa and Bathinda districts, prolonged hot and dry climatic conditions have further enhanced the fear of whitefly attacks on the kharif crop.
Experts have cautioned farmers to remain vigilant about twin pest attacks, i.e. whitefly and pink bollworm, this season.
It is after seven years that an alert has been sounded about the threat of a whitefly attack.
Pink bollworm is monophagous or feeds only on cotton plants. It affects a plant at the flowering stage.
It is now resistant to firstgeneration transgenic Bt cotton (Bollgard cotton).
Bollworm infestation can be easily identified with pheromone traps in fields that catch male insects.
While whitefly survives on a variety of plants, including cotton crops.
Experts say whitefly infestation is determined if six adult pests are found on the top three leaves in the early morning period. It sucks the leaf and causes the leaf curl virus.
No need to panic, say authorities
However, the state agriculture authorities said farmers need not panic and sprays of recommended pesticides can protect the crop in infancy from the pink bollworm attack.
Paramjit Singh, Punjab Agriculture University (PAU)’s director of Bathinda-based regional research station, said the prevalent weather is conducive for the deadly whitefly whereas incidents of bollworm have started emerging where cotton was sown early this time.
“Infected cotton crop residue from the last year that is used as firewood is the only possible source for the reoccurrence of bollworm attack. After last year’s infestation, the agriculture department and PAU had undertaken a coordinated awareness drive against pink bollworm management and farmers have still time to dispose it of as per the standard operating procedure (SOP),” said the expert.
Mansa chief agriculture officer (CAO) Manjit Singh said bollworm was spotted in new places last week and farmers were advised to use spray.
At present, the economic threshold level (ETL) of the whitefly is within permissible limits but farmers are being advised to enhance surveillance, he added.
The ETL is pest density at which control measures should be applied to prevent increasing pest population.
“The biggest challenge is a scarcity of irrigation facility as canal water would reach cotton fields later this week. Bollworm is being found in the early-sown fields where cotton was sown after harvesting of mustard. But the situation is not out of control,” he said. Punjab had last seen widespread crop damage due to whitefly in 2015 and the crop production was severely hit in the last season due to pink bollworm infestation.
Timely detection of twin pests can save crop loss: Expert
Principal entomologist of PAU Vijay Kumar said rain could bring some relief from the whitefly scare but it is still not clear if the semi-arid cottongrowing districts would receive showers in the next week. Kumar said timely detection of the pests can save farmers a substantial crop loss. “Bollworm will impact those fields from where last year’s residue was not cleared. Delay in canal irrigation support delayed sowing and bollworm has not affected late sown crop,” he said.