Poor quality of seed causing decline in cotton production

MULTAN: Prime Minister’s Agriculture Working Group head Neil Foster has said that seed quality is not good in the country, which is causing decline in the cotton production.

Talking to The News after a meeting of the PMAWG at the Central Cotton Research Institute on Monday, he said that seed quality was very poor and it was not properly germinated. The field visits revealed that the cotton seed was mixture of varieties, which needed to be improved for desired production. Prime Minister Imran Khan had constituted a three-member team, headed by international cotton expert Neil Foster along with ex-secretary agriculture Arif Nadeem and LUMS assistant professor Muhammad Ehsan Rana, he told.

Neil Foster, who is an international cotton expert and entomologist, said that the PMAWG held its meeting at the CCRI and consulted scientists and experts on cotton and reviewed the standards of research and lacunas in high production. Neil Foster said that overnight change was not possible because problems in agriculture sector were grave. He said that major threats were pink bollworm, whitefly and some other pests. He said that the second major challenge facing by cotton crop was related to the poor quality of cotton seed. The seed germination process was not properly optimised and cottonseed available in the market found mixture.

Neil Foster was of the view that Pakistan had rich potential of production and the country could properly achieve production level of 20 million bales. He underlined the need of taking necessary measures to remove these irritants, putting a regulatory mechanism in place and legal framework for seed production and dissemination.

Meanwhile, talking to The News, PMAWG member Arif Nadeem said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had constituted the working group to enhance per acre yield and providing relief to farmers. The prime objective of forming working group to enhance productivity and befitting growers, he said. He said that the government was working to release funds for the PCCCC.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Working Group underlined the need of adopting a long term agriculture policy.

The meeting held at Central Cotton Research Institute on Monday threw light on the challenges being faced by cash crop cotton and the measures to increase per acre yield. Speaking on eth occasion, PMAWG chief Neil Foster said that the present situation needs adopting measures on urgent basis to prevent from cotton crop problems. CRI Director Dr Zahid Mehmood said that the CCRI was running programmes successfully according to climatic conditions. He said that the CCRI was playing a key role in cotton research and overall production in the country. He elaborated the research programme and research findings on cotton curl leave virus. The resistance against virus was developed from forest cotton, he told. He briefed the meeting about cotton production technology and the CCRI research on different diseases. The PMAWG delegation visited laboratories at the CCRI. The delegation appreciated 35mm long staple length cotton and said this it was the basic requirement of textile sector.