MULTAN: Agriculture department Tuesday advised farmers to complete sowing of Bt varieties of cotton from April 15 to May 15 to get good yields.
Farmers should select Bt cotton varieties while keeping in view its suitability with regard to area, 0local information and last few years experience, officials said in a statement issued by media liaison unit of Punjab Agriculture department.
Officials said that farmers should only sow the registered and approved varieties, preferably those certified by Punjab Seed Corporation and seed developed by companies approved by Federal Seed Certification department.
Seed developed at own farms should undergo germination strength test before sowing and farmers should utilize only the Sinker seed i.e the seed that sinks to the bottom when put in water.
In case of sowing by drill, farmers should first remove fur from the seed. A kilogram of Sulphuric acid was sufficient to remove fur from ten kilogram of seed. Farmers should then wash the seed to remove traces of acid and then dry it.
At least ten per cent of the area should be cultivated with non-Bt cotton varieties so that attacking pests do not develop resistance against Bt varieties.
Seed be sown at the rate of 6-10 kilogram per acre in accordance with their germination strength. Farmers should select the seed having germination strength above 60 per cent and is healthy and disease-free.
A healthy beginning increase resistance against diseases and keep the crop safe from virus attack to a greater extent.
Farmers should also treat the seed with some suitable pesticides after consulting agriculture officials to keep the crop safe against sucking pests, particularly the virus carrying white fly for at least a month after sowing.
In case of sowing in lines, farmers should apply first water some 30-40 days after sowing and rest of water applications should be done after 12-15 days intervals.
Comments
Comments are closed.