The cotton zone district of Punjab has come under pest attack and the department of agriculture of Pakistan has suggested the cotton growers carry pest scouting two times in a week.
The sowing season of the crop during the Kharif has already been done and the harvesting is expected to begin in the month of September that will be completed by the end of October. The Punjab province of Pakistan is producing about 80% of the total crop while the Sindh is sharing about 20% of the overall production of cotton in Pakistan.
Dr Khalid Abdullah, the cotton commissioner told the media that the government has revised the target for production of cotton and is no fixed at 12.6m bales that were previously 14m bales. According to the officials, the PAD hot spot has been discovered in 11 cotton growing districts where the growers have been advised to apply new pesticides before the pests attack the crop and cause any economic loss.
According to the officials, many pests have been found attacking The crop including; whitefly, Thrips, Jassid, Big bowl, Mealybug, army worm and the Heliothis. Among all, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lieyah, Rajanpur and Okara are the less affected areas. Bahawalpur, Multan, Pakistan, Bhawalnagar, Sahiwal and Rahimyar Khan are the hardest hit areas.
Though in the wind and the rainy times the spray should be stopped but, apart from that, suggested is to double the spray, for better results.
