The cotton Bollworm causes enormous losses.
There's no doubt that the Bollworms are back,” Dr.
Pink Bollworm causes damage during winters,
only in the first 130-140 days after sowing.
In the ICAR-ICSR meetings, scientists pondered over the options to control the Bollworms.
Farmers in the region are now worried about a repeat of last year's pink Bollworm attack.
The cotton crop is extensively damaged by the Bollworm larvae of the moths Earias and Platyedra.
The 2018 study warned that pink Bollworm“if left unchecked” can cause“serious
implications for the cotton sector in India”.
Ushering in a revolution
of sorts, the magic seed is eliminating the menace of the Bollworm, besides increasing yield.
Indian farmers have adopted genetically-modified seeds
known as Bt cotton that are resistant to Bollworms but it hasn't stopped infestations.
Studies between 2013 and 2015 of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and
CICR concluded that pink Bollworm had developed resistance to Bollgard-II.
In some villages, a further advisory was issued to
plough and level the land after harvest to ensure complete destruction of Bollworms.
But many farmers have said that Bollworms still attacked their crops this year, which led them to increase their use of pesticides.
When the first reports of pink Bollworm infestation surfaced in Gujarat in 2010,
it was in a very small area and on BG-I cotton.
In February 2018, the Maharashtra government brought out the first set of guidelines delineating eligibility criteria
and reparation amount for cotton farmers who suffered crop loss in 2017-18 due to Bollworm attack.
Bollgard-II(Bt-II) is a technology wherein two Bt proteins(crystal toxins- cry1Ac and cry2Ab) contained in a cotton seed have enhanced capacity to ward off three types of Bollworms- American,
spotted and pink Bollworm.