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Garma
Garam More
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Agriculture |
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In the new millennium we have confirmed that we are unable to ensure ecological viability and economic sustainability in the agricultural sector and it is directly more applicable to cotton than any other crop. There is urgent need for further research to understand the complex interaction between ecology, agronomy, biology, climatology and to develop it into an ecologically based disease and insect control strategy which represents only a part of the overall crop protection system. Startlingly, biotechnology has opened new vistas in cotton production. Scientists have successfully accomplished integration of the delta endotoxin in Bacillus thuringiensis strain kurstaki gene for in-built protection against Lepidotepteros pests (bollworms) for transgenic integration into specific cotton cultivar genomes. It is very interesting to note that such ``Bt'' cultivars have gone into cultivation in cotton growing areas over 3 million hectares of USA, Australia, China, S Africa, Argentina etc. Biotechnological approach has come to the rescue of manipulating round up herbicide resistance has also been manipulated likewise. The trends in biotechnology have indicated its scope for transgenic modification of fibres for several quality parameters like lint, colour and so on. In fact, if biotechnology used in its proper perspective then it may put cotton in improving its competitiveness vis-a-vis other fibres. The cost of production of cotton has gone up all over the world and our country is no exception. The exception between other cotton growing countries and our country is that though the cost of production is going up, the productivity is lowest. India has no option now to place immediate emphasis on perpetual incremental production per unit area through strategies and technologies that will increase productivity of cotton unit acre on one side and on the other will not keep unwanted stress on the environment. Obviously immediate attention is to be paid to break the barriers to increased productivity through management of key input components in all perspectives, scientific management of significant destructive elements and adoption of inherent fibre quality preservation technologies at growing, pre and post-harvest stages at any cost. Refining the processes from grading, ginning, pricing, handling evaluating, electronic marketing etc. are essential to enhance the market and user competitiveness of cotton is also the need of the time. Cotton is notorious for its susceptibility to various pests. It is very important to note that the world over nearly 23 per cent of the crop insecticides is consumed by cotton. In India because of weather conditions this percentage is almost over 50 per cent of the total insecticides used in India are accounted for by cotton. As a matter of fact, India, China and Pakistan which account for over 40 percent of global cotton production have faced intensification of pest related problems due to excessive use of chemical pesticides, while some pockets in our country do not use insecticides and other chemicals significantly. Development of resistance to insecticides is most serious insect pest of cotton and has also become a major hurdle. Almost all-chemical pesticide firms despite their strong lobby in the country have now started realising that cotton farmer is scared of them. The main reason is obviously tremendous resistance to chemical pesticides. In fact, the statistics proves beyond doubt that cotton farmer can cut down costs of using chemical pesticides to almost 25 per cent. It is worthwhile noting that many cotton farmers in Vidarbha region have now switched from chemical cotton farming to organic farming. Many have started using combination of biofertilisers like Growmore, Shoot Up and Growzymemanufactured by Suvash Biogenics Pvt Ltd, Mumbai and have found that their chemical pesticide consumption not only reduced to 25 per cent but to a bear minimum of 8-10 per cent. In addition the cotton growers who are using combination of these biofertilisers not only got about 36 per cent yield but they are also getting little better price for their cotton. Most of the giant pesticide companies have started recommending reduction of chemical pesticides and startlingly advocating use of bio control agents, biofertilisers and so under the sweet and convenient pretext of integrated pest management programmes. Nevertheless, it must be mentioned here without any bias that their main objective is to sell the chemicals they produce. In reality if the cotton farmers do not use any of the chemical pesticides then half of the business of these companies get affected directly. Average losses on account of crop damage by insect pests works out to 10-30 per cent. India loses annually about 6-7 million bales (1.20 m tonnes of lint and 2.40 m tonnes of seeds) of lint on account of these products. Effective control of resistant population of insect species is even trickier. As said earlier the more you use biofertilisers like Growmore, ShootUp and Growzyme, the less attack of insects on the cotton field. Likewise reduce use of chemicals drastically up to 10 per cent and the yield automatically increases. Sustainability of cotton production must take into consideration all these factors to maintain desirable level of cotton yields over long period and India should be the main beneficiary in the coordinated global and regional levels to solve this problem. This aspect of cotton cultivation has great potential for enhancing the yield and reducing the cost of production as well as environmental pollution. Organic farming of cotton which was practiced in India since ancient times needs to be suitably modified by introducing environment friendly biotechnologies to ensure not only bumper crops to cotton growers but also high price to build overall prosperity and to create a win-win situation for everyone. Dated : 02 February 2000
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