Experts warn of pink bollworm attack

MULTAN: Director Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan warned farmers to get ready with suitable remedies and material against pink bollworm that usually hits cotton in Punjab early due to early maturing varieties and attains intensity after September 15. In a release issued on Wednesday, Dr Zahid Mahmood advised farmers to pluck 100 green cotton bolls of the age of 14 to 28 days which are neither soft nor hard to know about the intensity of pink bollworm attack. Farmers should then cut these bolls parallel to length and count the number of pink bollworm inside and the bolls affected by it. Suitable pesticides should be applied without any delay after consulting officials provided the pest incidence was found to have reached the economic threshold level.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2019.