Interviews
Cotton anticipated to be core crop in future
10 Feb '10
2 min read
Cotton is anticipated to be a core crop in near future with a hike in its production leading to 18 million bales. This may come about due to the water scarcity which will daunt the farmers from sowing paddy and sugarcane crops which excessively consume water.
Several agricultural scientists representing the public and private sector who conveyed presentations to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on BT cotton, were of the consensus on this.
Owing to lop-sidedness cotton production in 2009-10 was asymmetrical, Dr Noorul Islam, representing the Punjab government said. He also added that, despite lack of availability of any acclaimed BT cotton variety, 42 percent farmers planted those varieties, but fell short in taking preventive steps.
He said that in current year Sindh produced a historic four million bales of cotton, though some of the prime areas of the territory noted a reduced production as the farmers delayed cultivation of the varieties that should have been sowed at an earlier stage. Also they neglected to implement preventive measure which could have lead to enhanced production of cotton, he added.
Contrary to this he held that, in eccentric regions like Sargodha, Mianwali and even Kasur there was remarkable production of cotton and if the crop would have been properly taken care of then just Punjab's output would have summed up to 14 million bales. Nonetheless, now the Punjab government is well equipped, he noted.
The Agriculture Extension Departments were directed to notify the farmers to sow cotton immediately after reaping wheat that is by May 15, as majority of the seed varieties required sowing at an earlier stage, he informed.
Also Punjab is to bequest Sindh with some freshly developed drought-resistant biotech cotton seeds, Dr. Noorul said and prophesied that 80 percent of the sowing would be concluded by May 15 and that Punjab's textile millers will start getting fresh cotton crop by August.
He also pronounced that Mianwali, Sargodha and its adjacent areas would be the upcoming areas for cotton owing to the scarce availability of water which would daunt cultivation of other Kharif crops, while the cultivation in the southern most areas of Punjab is expected to keep unchanged but with a boost in productivity.
Several agricultural scientists representing the public and private sector who conveyed presentations to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on BT cotton, were of the consensus on this.
Owing to lop-sidedness cotton production in 2009-10 was asymmetrical, Dr Noorul Islam, representing the Punjab government said. He also added that, despite lack of availability of any acclaimed BT cotton variety, 42 percent farmers planted those varieties, but fell short in taking preventive steps.
He said that in current year Sindh produced a historic four million bales of cotton, though some of the prime areas of the territory noted a reduced production as the farmers delayed cultivation of the varieties that should have been sowed at an earlier stage. Also they neglected to implement preventive measure which could have lead to enhanced production of cotton, he added.
Contrary to this he held that, in eccentric regions like Sargodha, Mianwali and even Kasur there was remarkable production of cotton and if the crop would have been properly taken care of then just Punjab's output would have summed up to 14 million bales. Nonetheless, now the Punjab government is well equipped, he noted.
The Agriculture Extension Departments were directed to notify the farmers to sow cotton immediately after reaping wheat that is by May 15, as majority of the seed varieties required sowing at an earlier stage, he informed.
Also Punjab is to bequest Sindh with some freshly developed drought-resistant biotech cotton seeds, Dr. Noorul said and prophesied that 80 percent of the sowing would be concluded by May 15 and that Punjab's textile millers will start getting fresh cotton crop by August.
He also pronounced that Mianwali, Sargodha and its adjacent areas would be the upcoming areas for cotton owing to the scarce availability of water which would daunt cultivation of other Kharif crops, while the cultivation in the southern most areas of Punjab is expected to keep unchanged but with a boost in productivity.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Popular News
Leave your Comments
Editor’s Pick
Esteemed Clients
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
