Cotton body Jt director says yr to Sep output seen down

By Dev Dutt, edited by Mansi Kelkar/NewsWire18 

The country's cotton production is likely to fall below 26 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) due to excessive crop damage, despite a record high acreage for 2009-10 (Oct-Sep) at 10 million hectares, S.M. Kolhatkar, joint director, Directorate of Cotton Development, told NewsWire18 today. Production is likely to fall due to adverse weather conditions in key growing areas of the country, he said. The country's cotton acreage in 2008-09 is estimated at 9.23million hectares, said Kolhatkar. "Higher minimum support prices for 2008-09 and 2009-10, at Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 per 100 kg for medium and short staple varieties, respectively, and favourable weather during sowing in mid-June and early July, had encouraged more farmers to sow cotton or to expand plantation area," he said. The subsequent draught in most growing states, followed by heavy rainfall in parts of Maharashtra and floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, have reduced the crop yield to an estimated average 400 kg per hectares from 450 kg last year, he said. The output in Punjab and Haryana is also seen down 15-20% as over 75% of the crop is irrigation-fed, and reservoir levels had lowered due to the drought, said Kolhatkar. He said the Cotton Advisory Board is likely to revise its forecast for 2009-10 (Oct-Sep) crop from 30.5 million bales earlier to around 26 million bales. 

This year, cotton acreage in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, rose significantly, said Kolhatkar. "The highest increase of 370,000 hectares in 2009-10 acreage was reported in Maharashtra, (taking acreage in the state) to 3.5 million hectares. Gujarat acreage is up by 218,000 hectare to 2.4 million hectares, while Rajasthan acreage went up from 300,000 hectare to 440,000 hectare," he said. 

CROP DISEASE CONTROLLED

Damage to the crop caused by pests has been controlled satisfactorily this season in all states, and it has remained below the economic threshold level, said Kolhatkar. He said though the Central Institute for Cotton Research had launched indigenously developed Bt seeds-Bikaneri Narma medium staple cotton and NHH-44 short staple cotton-this year, there was need to do more. "India has just developed Bikaneri Narma and NHH-44 that fall in the category of Bt seed 1, capable of fighting against only one pest called Bollworm, while the US has introduced new BG (Bollguard) 2 seed that kills two species of pests like Bollworm and Spodoptera." The CICR has developed the 'Bikaneri Narma Bt' seed by adding a protein gene to the traditional 'Bikaneri' seed. "It will be of great academic and commercial interest to see what the performance survey report of 'Bikaneri Narma Bt' seed, sown this year in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states, says, as traditional Bikaneri Narma was already pest-resistant to high extent." The report is likely in a couple of months, he said. The country's acreage under hybrid long staple Bt cotton had increased to about 80% of total cotton acreage in 2009-10 from just 0.39% in 2002-03, he said. Copyright NewsWire18 Pvt. Ltd. 2007. All rights reserved.