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Punjab misses May 15 deadline for cotton sowing for kharif season

The state could not reach the halfway mark of the target of 4 lakh hectares for the 2022-23 kharif season and the delay in cotton sowing has triggered fears of deadly pink bollworm attack in Punjab -

May 15, 2022 : Punjab has missed the May 15 deadline to complete cotton sowing, triggering fears of the deadly pink bollworm attack due to the delay in the crop plantation for the second consecutive season.

The state could not reach the halfway mark of the target of 4 lakh hectares or 10 lakh acres set for the 2022-23 Kharif season.

An inter-state consultative and monitoring committee of cotton-growing states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan had recommended completing sowing from April 15 to May 15 as a part of the pink bollworm infestation management plan in Punjab.

Officials of the state agriculture department and district administrations blame the non-availability of canal water for delayed sowing.

Sowing in Fazilka and Muktsar was severely hit after Sirhind feeder canal witnessed a breach at Muktsar’s Thandewala village on May 9. It was the second breach since April 1 at the same site and it adversely impacted farmers of the two districts.

Mansa deputy commissioner Jaspreet Singh said the Bhakra canal supply remained suspended for annual maintenance for about 15 days from April 29.

“Fields are expected to get water from tomorrow. We hope that farmers will be able to finish sowing in the next few days,” he said.

According to the data of the state agriculture department, four key districts of the semi-arid belt of south Malwa- Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka and Muktsar- sowed the ‘white gold’ on 4.55 lakh acres till May 14 against the target to sow cotton on 7.45 lakh acres by May 15.

In Bathinda, where it was planned to cultivate cotton on 2 lakh acres for the current season, farmers were short of 55% of the target. Till Saturday, cotton was sown only on 90,000 acres in Bathinda.

Against this year’s target of 1.60 lakh acres, Mansa could complete sowing on 45% or 88,000 acres. Muktsar is short of 36% of the target of 1.25 lakh acres as the district recorded cotton sowing on the 80,000 acres. To date, Fazilka has reported sowing on 1.97 lakh acres, which was 24% short of the target of 2.57 lakh acres, for the current kharif season.

According to the cotton agronomist at Punjab Agriculture University’s research center’s at Abohar, Manpreet Singh, sowing should have been completed within the stipulated time of May 15 but canal water supply would hit the cotton productivity.

“Farmers can resume sowing even till the first week of June but it is undesirable in view of last year’s pest attack. It is easy to control any pest infestation when the crop is at the same time as the growth of the pest population. Moreover, late sowing will lead to loss of 1.5-2 quintal per acre yield,” he added.

In 2021, Punjab witnessed the first ever widespread infestation of pink bollworm that crashed the cotton production drastically.

In the last kharif season, Punjab produced 22 lakh quintals of cotton, whereas, during 2020-21 period, all seven districts of the state produced over 49 lakh quintals of the white gold.

Officials said after last season’s pest attack, a section of farmers were hesitant to sow cotton but the highest ever rate of up to ₹ 13,000 per quintal motivated them to go for it again.

Harinder Sidhu, who cultivates cotton on 32 acres in Muktsar, said the farmers were reeling under the threat of a loss due to the mismanaged canal network.

“Sirhind feeder is the lifeline of cotton-growing regions of Muktsar and Abohar belt in Fazilka as groundwater in the region is unfit even for irrigation. Our farms are lying vacant and irrigation authorities are to be blamed for the mismanagement,” he said.

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