Efforts to fight cotton virus discussed

Plant diseases emerge due to climatic changes.

FAISALABAD: It is imperative to step up efforts to fight cotton leaf curl virus which is badly affecting cotton production, said experts at a conference on Monday.

A two-day 8th National Conference of Pakistan Phytopathological Society (PPS) started here at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF).

At the inauguration, talking about post-harvest losses, UAF Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the country was losing 20 to 40% of crops due to various diseases that required attention of the farming community.

He said that various plant diseases were emerging because of climatic changes and urged scientists to expedite the pace of research to avert any crisis. He said the responsibility lies on the shoulder of scientists to develop state-of-the-art technology to fight plant diseases.

Sardar Muhammad Mughal from the Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi suggested the setting up of plant disease clinics that will help overcome crop diseases. He said that increased urbanisation was also aggravating plant pathology problems across the country.

Mughal was of the opinion that lack of manpower was hindering efforts to fight the virus. “Now, we have to produce more experts in the field,” he said.

PPS President Dr Mumtaz Hussain said the scientists of the society work actively to examine outbreak of diseases in various crops and eliminate them to increase agricultural production. He said that the society was set up in 1987 to serve the farm sector with the commitment to solve the problems of farmers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2011.