Incidence of whitefly less this year, says PAU survey

News :

The survey by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has revealed very low incidence of whitefly in Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot and Muktsar districts except the Khuian Sarwar block of Fazilka district where incidence of whitefly above economic threshold level has been observed in 19 fields out of 335 in 12 villages.In some fields, incidence of jassid and thrips was also recorded.

Background :

• Punjab has nearly 4 lakh acres under cotton and almost all of it is Bt cotton, which is resistant to some major pests such as Ballworm.
• Deficient rain, hot and humid climate, pesticides resistance, spurious pesticides sold be the dealers are the main reasons behind increasing Whitefly Attacks.
• But over the years, whiteflies have regularly attacked cotton plants only to be controlled by intensive spraying of chemical pesticides.
• Despite a new pesticide being introduced and subsidized by the state government, the whitefly attack spun out of control last year.
• Last year Whitelfy has affected 2/3 of the cotton crop in Punjab and 15 farmers had committed suicide.

Issue :

• Demand of Bt Cotton seeds has decreased this year and farmers are shifting to other crops, especially paddy and maize, in which they see higher returns.
• Cotton acreage in the state this kharif season is expected to drop by 15-20% despite an 8% discount in price of seeds this year.
• Delay in supply of canal water, Whitefly pest attacks, higher income in paddy in the last season led to decrease in overall production of cotton.
• Punjab consumes an estimated Rs 800-900 crore worth of pesticides per year, of which about Rs 150 crore worth are used on cotton alone and spurious pesticides accounts nearly 15% of the total consumption.
• Despite of Increase in the consumption of Pesticides Whitefly attack is out of control leading to higher input cost and shifting of farmers to water intensive paddy as a viable otion whose MSP has increased last year.
• Pest infestation, high input costs, use of spurious seeds and unscientific use of pesticides,crop failures and drop in earnings in cotton have hit farmers hard.
• Due to fear of pest infestation the farmers in some areas has uprooted newly sown cotton crop and replaced it with paddy to ensure better returns.

Analysis :

• Whitefly pest grows and spreads in dry, hot and humid conditions and if in the coming 20 days there is abundant rainfall it will be good for the crop.
• Although the prevailing hot and humid weather is favourable for multiplication of these pests, the incidence of these insects was observed only in a few fields yet.
• The delay in supply of canal water is another reason for low sowing in some districts, especially Mansa. “Late cotton crop is highly prone to pest attack, including whitefly, that has hit crop hard in recent years.
• Higher income in basmati last year is influencing farmers to grow less cotton.
• Non Bt variety of cotton is less affected by Whitefly and using biofertilizers instead of chemical pesticides, create spider webs on the plants which are natural predators of Whitefly.
• Whitefly lays eggs in the middle section of the plant, on the underside of leaves. Top sprays often miss the eggs and nymphs in the middle layers so farmers have to be taught the right method of Spray.
• The government has advised the farmers to monitor their crop regularly for whitefly,jassid and thrip and avoid irrigation stress to the cotton field to minimise incidence of thrips and whitefly.
• To combat the whitefly threat, an inter-State consultative and monitoring committee has also been set up under the chairmanship of Punjab Agriculture University vice-chancellor.
• There are fears that whitefly will now start attacking other common crops in the region such as chillies or vegetables. With pesticides running out of steam and pests developing resistance, alternatives would have to be quickly found.

By: Harman Sandhu