Massive fall in cotton yield feared

Irrigation department fails to supply water through canals

BAHAWALNAGAR:

Cotton farmers in district say that they are helpless against the worst attack of pink sundi after the attack of the whitefly on their cotton crop, and they are dealing with poor quality of cotton seeds.

They fear that their expected yield in the season would drop from 40 mounds per acre to 12 mounds.

Bahawalnagar district is nationally renowned for cotton production.

A farmer, Sajjad Abdallah, said that when he cultivated cotton on 10 acres of land in May, he had expected a good harvest in early June.

However, when the weather turned sultry and humid in July and August, the irrigation department failed to supply water in the canals as well as failed to provide good seeds and chemicals, he said.

Sajjad said that in his area, the underground water was salty, which prevented farmers from irrigating crops through tube wells.

In August and September, excess water was required as the cotton plant was in the process of producing flowers and cotton balls.

He said that due to non-availability of water and hot, humid weather and, what he alleged, “incompetence of the agriculture department”, the attack of whitefly had increased, and now pink sundy had been destroying the crop due to which they were now expecting only 10 to 12 mounds of cotton per acre.

Rao Sharafat Ali and Irshad, farmers from Chak Sondha on the suburbs, alleged that the government had left the cotton farmers helpless.

They said that neither the Federal Department of Seed Certification monitored substandard seed manufacturing companies nor did the Agriculture Department check fake fertilisers and chemicals, due to which the whitefly breeding had reached the worst condition and now the pink sundi had attacked the crop.

Irshad said he had sprayed his 35-acre cotton crop with four different combinations of insecticides to control the whitefly but to no avail, and now there was no effect on the pink sundi.

He said he had also complained to the plant protection and pest warning departments about the issue, but the authorities only gave verbal assurances.

A senior officer of the agriculture department, on condition of anonymity, said that the department that checked the quality of chemicals had neither the staff nor transport, and there was no laboratory in Bahawalnagar to check the chemicals.

Even if there was a complaint, they sent the sample to Bahawalpur, and by the time the result came the season was over, due to which proper check and balance could not be maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2023.