Chandigarh: Haryana has recorded its lowest cotton yield over two decades in 2022-23, even though the state has almost completely transitioned to the genetically modified Bt cotton which was introduced in north India as a pest-resistant, yield-improving variety in 2005-06.
Attacks by pests like Pink Bollworm and Whitefly, coupled with diseases like leaf curl and parawilt, burning of plants due to excessive heat in the initial days of planting of the crop, and unseasonal rain have all contributed to the drop in yield.
Cotton and paddy are the main crops grown in Haryana during the kharif season, covering most of the state’s cultivable land. At 295.65 kg lint cotton (ginned cotton) per hectare, the yield is 39 per cent of the 761.19 kg per hectare yield in 2013-14, according to the state-wise data on the website of the textile commissioner’s office.
Haryana’s yield is much lower than the national average of 447.06 kg per hectare and even the average yield of the northern region comprising Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, which is 439.16 kg.
The only time the state’s yield dropped below the latest numbers was back in 2002-03 at 286.61 kg, according to the website of the textile commissioner’s office. Haryana was then growing the American cotton and the crop had come under the attack of the American Bollworm.
The very idea behind introducing Bt cotton, engineered through the introduction of genes from the bacillus thuringiensis bacteria found in most soils, was to save the crop from frequent pest attacks.
However, experts feel it would be incorrect to assume that the Bt variety will not experience any pest attack or that one factor can be responsible for the drop in yield.
Dr Rishi Kumar, head of the north region’s Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), an institute of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), told ThePrint, “There are 1,326 types of pests that attack the crop. The Bollguard-2 or BG-2 Bt cotton (being used currently) is developed to guard against four (types of pests) only — American Bollworm, Pink Bollworm, Spotted Bollworm and Tobacco Caterpillar.”
“So, there are still 1,322 types of pests to attack the crop. Cotton provides the best micro-environment for any type of insects and pests because it has a lot of green leaves, fertilisers that provide nutrition and moisture that helps organisms grow,” he added.
Former CICR head Dr Dilip Monga too said it would be incorrect to blame a single factor for the low yield of 2022-23. “Extreme hot weather conditions led to the burning of plants at the initial stage. This decreased the plant population which eventually affects the yield. Excessive rains in September led to parawilt and in some cases, damaging of plants due to waterlogging,” he told ThePrint.
Ram Partap Sihag, joint director (cotton) in Haryana’s Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, tasked with the promotion of the Cotton Cultivation Scheme, attributed the poor yield to pest attacks and parawilt condition (sudden drooping of leaves) due to excessive rain in September.
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Multiple pest attacks
The Bt cotton crop has been subjected to pest attacks since 2005, when the BG-1 variety was introduced in the north, said CICR’s Dr Kumar. In 2006-07, Tobacco Caterpillar attacked the crop. The next year, the BG-2 variety replaced BG-1.
“We witnessed the Mealybug attack in 2007-08, Whitefly attack started in 2012, but it was manageable. It returned in 2014 towards the end of the cotton season in September,” he added.
According to Kumar, any pest attack towards the end of a season is more dangerous because some of the eggs remain in the field, wreaking havoc during the next season.
“The year 2017 saw an attack of the Whitefly, 2018 was marred by an attack of Thrips — tiny insects the size of a sewing needle that feed on the plant and cause mature leaves to turn coppery brown or red. The next year, the Pink Bollworm attacked the cotton crop and has been causing damage since,” he added.
On whether the varieties of Bt cotton that suffered attacks were produced by known brands or some local ones, Kumar said that the CICR recommends 40 to 50 brands that comply with the benchmark set by the ICAR.
He added that the local media reported some farmers bringing 3-G and 4-G hybrid seeds, varieties not recognised by the CICR, from Gujarat. “I can’t comment on those seeds because I don’t know anything about it. But there were reports in local media that farmers had purchased these seeds for better yield,” he said.
Former CICR head Dr Monga, quoted earlier, said that in 2022-23, the cotton crop has been subjected to both biotic stresses — caused by another living organism — as well as abiotic stresses which are caused by other factors.
“The biotic stresses were attacks by Whitefly, Pink Bollworm, and cotton leaf curl virus while erratic climatic conditions, burning of crop due to high temperatures at the beginning of the cropping season in April-May and an unpredictable rainfall in September were the abiotic stresses,” he told ThePrint over the phone.
Cotton prices also dropped between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000 per quintal in 2022-23 against up to Rs 14,000 per quintal in 2021-22.
“The average yield of raw cotton remained a little less than 5 quintals in my fields. The Rs 7,000 per quintal price cannot even cover the expenditure on seeds, pesticides, diesel, tractor rent and labour. At this price, farmers can think of any profits only if the yield goes above 8 quintals per acre,” Gurdial Mehta, a farmer from Panjuana village of Sirsa, told ThePrint. Mehta said his fields have produced up to 12 quintals of cotton per acre in the past.
Haryana & cotton
Every year, Haryana cultivates cotton on 5.5 to 7 lakh hectares of land, which is 4 to 5 per cent of the total area under cotton across the country. Haryana has 30.81 lakh hectares of cultivable land.
In terms of production, Haryana produced 10 lakh bales against 343.47 lakh bales across the country and 42.34 lakh bales in the north zone in 2022-23 — that’s 3 per cent and 23.6 per cent respectively.
Punjab’s yield was 314.06 kg/hectare in 2022-23, while Rajasthan’s at 578.63 kg/hectare somewhat improved the region’s average yield.
Nationally, Gujarat, with the second largest area under cotton at 25.54 lakh hectares after Maharashtra’s 42.29 lakh hectares, recorded the highest yield of 632.14 kg of lint cotton per hectare in the same timeframe.
Haryana’s yield in 2021-22 was slightly better at 351.76 kg per hectare.
Of the 30.81 lakh hectares of cultivable land in Haryana, the state agriculture department has set a target of cotton cultivation on 7 lakh hectares in 2023-24. The crop has been sown on 6.27 lakh hectares only, according to the weekly statement issued by the agriculture and farmers’ welfare department on 20 June.
“The figures are tentative but we hope the area will be more than 6 lakh hectares…it is still more than last year’s 5.75 lakh hectares,” said Sihag, quoted earlier.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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