Pakistan will not be able to achieve next cotton crop target in 2008-09 unless production of quality seeds, supply of quality inputs and adequate water availability is assured, growers and traders said here on Thursday.
They underlined the need for adopting modern agricultural practices to improve and upgrade the cropping standards in the country.
A senior member of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and president PCGA Sanghar cotton belt region Rana Abdul Sattar said quality and volume of the crop, especially the Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) variety of cotton would not improve because of wide use of uncertified seeds.
Lack of expertise in fighting cotton virus and minimising crop from heavy rainfall, around 65 percent crop in the interior of Sindh and adjoining areas including Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Badin and Umerkot would be affected, he added.
Sattar said the crop in Digri, Naukot, Sukkur, Khairpur and Nawabshah remained prone to attack of mealy bug and reddening of leaf, where 90 percent of BT cotton crop was sown.
He said we were still lacking to fight against mealy bug and Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) attack and reddening of leaf. Concern was building that the mealy bug and CLCV would cause endanger to the country largest cotton belt in Punjab. These conditions would bring into question whether Pakistani cotton producers could meet the 2008-09 production targets or not, he added.
A director on board of Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) and exporter and importer Ghulam Rabbani said the federal government has yet to set the target of crop but would not be able to set above 13 million bales as the country achieved has only 11.8 million bales in the previous season against the target of 14.14 million cotton bales.
He said experts from multinational companies in the field should help and guide growers to produce quality seeds in the country. Only two seed institutes, one each in Sakrand in Sindh and Khanewal in Punjab are unable to produce and cater to the supply of quality seed to the growers.
Rabbani said around 45 percent of the total cultivation in the country is BT type cotton. Nearly 90 percent of this type is cultivated in Sindh and about 30 percent is cultivated in Punjab.
He said September remained crucial month for the cotton crop as it bore fruit during those days, therefore, it is important for the cotton growers to handle the cotton virus attacks with utmost care and with the help of agricultural scientists.
Due to lack of competency, the farmers would face financial crunch while the country would likely to import around 3.5 million bales in the next crop season to meet the textile sector requirements.
Next crop in India will be available in July-August 2008, in China during Oct-Nov and in the US in the months of Nov-Dec 2008. The peak maturity months would be Oct-Nov 2008, he added.
He said while many indicators are warning of an economic problem for the world and the US ahead, cotton and copper and other key industrial markets, which have seen significant buying interest.
Traders are confident for a reduction in the Pakistan crop supply and also a jump in Pakistan imports. Pakistan has multidimensional ecological and climatic zones so that we should have to divide our agricultural research strategies according to the requirements of various zones.
He underlined the need for improving diversity of cultivators, eco-friendly and cost-effective pest management practices, efficient supply system, commercialisation of variegated and alternative usage of crop produce.
He said that agriculture in many parts of the world has become dependent on petrochemicals in the context of plant protection. He termed the gene discovery as a key tool for biotechnology.
They underlined the need for adopting modern agricultural practices to improve and upgrade the cropping standards in the country.
A senior member of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and president PCGA Sanghar cotton belt region Rana Abdul Sattar said quality and volume of the crop, especially the Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) variety of cotton would not improve because of wide use of uncertified seeds.
Lack of expertise in fighting cotton virus and minimising crop from heavy rainfall, around 65 percent crop in the interior of Sindh and adjoining areas including Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Badin and Umerkot would be affected, he added.
Sattar said the crop in Digri, Naukot, Sukkur, Khairpur and Nawabshah remained prone to attack of mealy bug and reddening of leaf, where 90 percent of BT cotton crop was sown.
He said we were still lacking to fight against mealy bug and Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) attack and reddening of leaf. Concern was building that the mealy bug and CLCV would cause endanger to the country largest cotton belt in Punjab. These conditions would bring into question whether Pakistani cotton producers could meet the 2008-09 production targets or not, he added.
A director on board of Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) and exporter and importer Ghulam Rabbani said the federal government has yet to set the target of crop but would not be able to set above 13 million bales as the country achieved has only 11.8 million bales in the previous season against the target of 14.14 million cotton bales.
He said experts from multinational companies in the field should help and guide growers to produce quality seeds in the country. Only two seed institutes, one each in Sakrand in Sindh and Khanewal in Punjab are unable to produce and cater to the supply of quality seed to the growers.
Rabbani said around 45 percent of the total cultivation in the country is BT type cotton. Nearly 90 percent of this type is cultivated in Sindh and about 30 percent is cultivated in Punjab.
He said September remained crucial month for the cotton crop as it bore fruit during those days, therefore, it is important for the cotton growers to handle the cotton virus attacks with utmost care and with the help of agricultural scientists.
Due to lack of competency, the farmers would face financial crunch while the country would likely to import around 3.5 million bales in the next crop season to meet the textile sector requirements.
Next crop in India will be available in July-August 2008, in China during Oct-Nov and in the US in the months of Nov-Dec 2008. The peak maturity months would be Oct-Nov 2008, he added.
He said while many indicators are warning of an economic problem for the world and the US ahead, cotton and copper and other key industrial markets, which have seen significant buying interest.
Traders are confident for a reduction in the Pakistan crop supply and also a jump in Pakistan imports. Pakistan has multidimensional ecological and climatic zones so that we should have to divide our agricultural research strategies according to the requirements of various zones.
He underlined the need for improving diversity of cultivators, eco-friendly and cost-effective pest management practices, efficient supply system, commercialisation of variegated and alternative usage of crop produce.
He said that agriculture in many parts of the world has become dependent on petrochemicals in the context of plant protection. He termed the gene discovery as a key tool for biotechnology.
