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Whitefly destroys 2/3rd of Punjab's cotton crop, 15 farmers commit suicide
READ ALSO: Mystery disease ruins cotton crop in Maharashtra
Curiously, the crop in the adjoining field, and another in the vicinity, showed far less whitefly infestation. In fact, in the adjoining field, farmer Yadvender Singh had sprayed no chemical pesticides at all. Instead, he had used biofertilisers and other non-chemical formulations. Yadvender's field is expected to yield 800 kg of cotton per acre compared to 300 kg that Manjeet would hope to harvest. In the other plot, a non-Bt variety of cotton too was far less affected by whitefly.
Yadvender's field, where chemical pesticides were not used, showed spider webs on the plants. These are natural predators of whitefly. In fields where pesticide is heavily sprayed, these are decimated leaving the whitefly to flourish.
Why did the pesticides fail? There are various theories doing the rounds among agitated farmers. The most popular one, which the government seems to be backing, is that spurious pesticides were sold by dealers. Testing of some samples has indeed shown this. This has led to the arrests of conniving officials and makers of spurious chemicals.
But others point out that spurious samples make up not more than 15% of the total pesticides sold. Punjab consumes an estimated Rs 800-900 crore worth of pesticides per year, of which about Rs 150 crore worth are used on cotton alone.
"It is possible that whitefly has developed resistance to the commonly used pesticides," says Uday B Philar, who heads a Pune-based biofertiliser company, Sequoia Biosciences. Philar spent over three decades in the pesticide industry before deciding to set out on his own, formulating non-chemical, eco-friendly products.
Philar also points out that farmers have not been taught how to properly spray crops. They spray the upper layers of standing crops assuming that the pesticide will seep down. But this does not happen.
"Whitefly lays eggs in the middle section of the plant, on the underside of leaves. Top sprays often miss the eggs and nymphs in middle layers," he said.
There are fears that whitefly will now start attacking other common crops in the region such as chillies or vegetables. With pesticides running out of steam and pests developing resistance, alternatives would have to be quickly found.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Whitefly-destroys-2/3rd-of-Punjabs-cotton-crop-15-farmers-commit-suicide/articleshow/49265083.cms?messageid=41588365&intenttarget=no&r=1444278775430
Women farmers shun pesticides, win war against whitefly
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Black clouds over BT cotton as whitefly runs amok
Whitefly destroys 2/3rd of Punjab's cotton crop, 15 farmers commit suicide
Subodh Varma & Amit Bhattacharya,TNN | Oct 8, 2015, 03.14 AM IST
Farmers of Punjab's Malwa region stage a dharna in Bathinda to seek compensation for the cotton crop damaged by whitefly.
BATHINDA: "It was just like the Japanese air strike in the film, Pearl Harbour," said Naresh Kumar Lehri, a seed and pesticide dealer at Singho village in Punjab's Bathinda district. "They appeared out of nowhere and left a trail of destruction."
Lehri was referring to the devastating attack by whitefly, a common pest, on the cotton crop in Punjab's Malwa region this year. It has affected about two-thirds of standing cotton crop in the state, causing an estimated loss of Rs 4,200 crore.
There are reports of at least 15 cotton farmers committing suicide. The director of Punjab's agriculture department is under arrest as are several pesticide dealers for selling spurious pesticides. The farmers are on the roads blocking traffic and demanding compensation while the state's Akali Dal-led NDA government has announced a compensation package of Rs 640 crore, dismissed by angry farmers as peanuts.
Punjab has nearly 12 lakh acres under cotton this year and almost all of it is Bt cotton, which is resistant to some major pests such as bollworm. But over the years, whiteflies have regularly attacked cotton plants only to be controlled by intensive spraying of chemical pesticides. But this year, despite a new pesticide being introduced and subsidized by the state government, the whitefly attack spun out of control. The reasons for this virulence are yet unclear but the farmers have a story to tell.
BATHINDA: "It was just like the Japanese air strike in the film, Pearl Harbour," said Naresh Kumar Lehri, a seed and pesticide dealer at Singho village in Punjab's Bathinda district. "They appeared out of nowhere and left a trail of destruction."
Lehri was referring to the devastating attack by whitefly, a common pest, on the cotton crop in Punjab's Malwa region this year. It has affected about two-thirds of standing cotton crop in the state, causing an estimated loss of Rs 4,200 crore.
There are reports of at least 15 cotton farmers committing suicide. The director of Punjab's agriculture department is under arrest as are several pesticide dealers for selling spurious pesticides. The farmers are on the roads blocking traffic and demanding compensation while the state's Akali Dal-led NDA government has announced a compensation package of Rs 640 crore, dismissed by angry farmers as peanuts.
Punjab has nearly 12 lakh acres under cotton this year and almost all of it is Bt cotton, which is resistant to some major pests such as bollworm. But over the years, whiteflies have regularly attacked cotton plants only to be controlled by intensive spraying of chemical pesticides. But this year, despite a new pesticide being introduced and subsidized by the state government, the whitefly attack spun out of control. The reasons for this virulence are yet unclear but the farmers have a story to tell.
Several cotton farmers that TOI met in Bathinda and Faridkot districts of Punjab and adjoining Sirsa district of Haryana said that the whitefly appeared earlier than usual this year and deficient rains seem to have helped it survive longer.
"Since July, we have sprayed pesticide 10-12 times. Each spray costs about Rs 3,300 per acre. But the whitefly was unaffected," said a downcast Manjeet Singh in Singho village, standing on four acres of his withered cotton crop.
"Since July, we have sprayed pesticide 10-12 times. Each spray costs about Rs 3,300 per acre. But the whitefly was unaffected," said a downcast Manjeet Singh in Singho village, standing on four acres of his withered cotton crop.
READ ALSO: Mystery disease ruins cotton crop in Maharashtra
Curiously, the crop in the adjoining field, and another in the vicinity, showed far less whitefly infestation. In fact, in the adjoining field, farmer Yadvender Singh had sprayed no chemical pesticides at all. Instead, he had used biofertilisers and other non-chemical formulations. Yadvender's field is expected to yield 800 kg of cotton per acre compared to 300 kg that Manjeet would hope to harvest. In the other plot, a non-Bt variety of cotton too was far less affected by whitefly.
Yadvender's field, where chemical pesticides were not used, showed spider webs on the plants. These are natural predators of whitefly. In fields where pesticide is heavily sprayed, these are decimated leaving the whitefly to flourish.
Why did the pesticides fail? There are various theories doing the rounds among agitated farmers. The most popular one, which the government seems to be backing, is that spurious pesticides were sold by dealers. Testing of some samples has indeed shown this. This has led to the arrests of conniving officials and makers of spurious chemicals.
But others point out that spurious samples make up not more than 15% of the total pesticides sold. Punjab consumes an estimated Rs 800-900 crore worth of pesticides per year, of which about Rs 150 crore worth are used on cotton alone.
"It is possible that whitefly has developed resistance to the commonly used pesticides," says Uday B Philar, who heads a Pune-based biofertiliser company, Sequoia Biosciences. Philar spent over three decades in the pesticide industry before deciding to set out on his own, formulating non-chemical, eco-friendly products.
Philar also points out that farmers have not been taught how to properly spray crops. They spray the upper layers of standing crops assuming that the pesticide will seep down. But this does not happen.
"Whitefly lays eggs in the middle section of the plant, on the underside of leaves. Top sprays often miss the eggs and nymphs in middle layers," he said.
There are fears that whitefly will now start attacking other common crops in the region such as chillies or vegetables. With pesticides running out of steam and pests developing resistance, alternatives would have to be quickly found.
Women farmers shun pesticides, win war against whitefly
TNN | Oct 9, 2015, 09.31 AM IST
CHANDIGARH: A group of women in Haryana's Jind district are doing what the governments and scientists couldn't to protect cotton crop from whitefly attack in Punjab and Haryana. With the help of indigenous style of farming, they have beaten the impact of whitefly pest in hundreds of acres of land in three villages. About 100 women farmers are active in this campaign apart from men.
"We don't use any pesticide on crops, but get as much production as those who spend thousands on chemicals," said Savita Malik, a resident of Lalitkhera village. Women in the neighbouring Nidani and Nidana villages are also taking lead in the campaign.
According to state agriculture department officials, farmers from about a dozen villages in Jind have adopted that style of farming and limited impact of whitefly attack in more than 1,000 acres of land. Farmer Pramila Randhana says they don't use pesticides to kill whitefly, but a homemade spray to strengthen the plants. Their spray is called 'Dr Dalal solution,' which is a mix of di-ammonia phosphate (DAP), urea, zinc and water.
The farmers believe that use of pesticides increases the problem of insects. "Pesticides shorten life cycle of insects, but don't stop them from multiplying rapidly," say farmers.
An agriculture development officer (ADO) named Surender Singh Dalal had started the 'desi' farming campaign about eight years back in Jind. Though Dalal died two years ago, his concept is gaining popularity in the state now. Dalal had taught farmers to identify the friendly insects that don't harm their crops. As of now, they have identified around 200 insects and monitor their activities. Some of the insects don't harm crops as they eat leaves and flowers, not the fruits on plants. Some carnivorous insects catch and kill other, thereby keeping their numbers in control.
Jind's deputy director of agriculture R P Sihag said, "At a time when other farmers invested Rs 5,000 per acre to control whitefly, these farmers spent just Rs 500 per acre to protect their crops by using homemade sprays." Suresh Ahlawat is one of them. He has planted fruit trees in five acres in Chhabri village and also grows wheat, mustard and bajra as intercropping on the same land, but doesn't use pesticides. Ahlawat said he had reduced input cost by 40% by adopting the new practice.
Master trainers of the group of farmers organize weekly "khet pathshalas" (field days) to educate farmers about their technique. Recently, the state agriculture department organized a visit of these farmers to Sisai village of Hisar district.
The National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated a study to know exact impact of that pattern of farm operations.
Haryana additional director (agriculture) Suresh Gahlawat said they could recommend such a practice to other areas of the state only after recommendations from the scientists based on some empirical study or scientific grounds.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Women-farmers-shun-pesticides-win-war-against-whitefly/articleshow/49282489.cms
CHANDIGARH: A group of women in Haryana's Jind district are doing what the governments and scientists couldn't to protect cotton crop from whitefly attack in Punjab and Haryana. With the help of indigenous style of farming, they have beaten the impact of whitefly pest in hundreds of acres of land in three villages. About 100 women farmers are active in this campaign apart from men.
"We don't use any pesticide on crops, but get as much production as those who spend thousands on chemicals," said Savita Malik, a resident of Lalitkhera village. Women in the neighbouring Nidani and Nidana villages are also taking lead in the campaign.
According to state agriculture department officials, farmers from about a dozen villages in Jind have adopted that style of farming and limited impact of whitefly attack in more than 1,000 acres of land. Farmer Pramila Randhana says they don't use pesticides to kill whitefly, but a homemade spray to strengthen the plants. Their spray is called 'Dr Dalal solution,' which is a mix of di-ammonia phosphate (DAP), urea, zinc and water.
The farmers believe that use of pesticides increases the problem of insects. "Pesticides shorten life cycle of insects, but don't stop them from multiplying rapidly," say farmers.
An agriculture development officer (ADO) named Surender Singh Dalal had started the 'desi' farming campaign about eight years back in Jind. Though Dalal died two years ago, his concept is gaining popularity in the state now. Dalal had taught farmers to identify the friendly insects that don't harm their crops. As of now, they have identified around 200 insects and monitor their activities. Some of the insects don't harm crops as they eat leaves and flowers, not the fruits on plants. Some carnivorous insects catch and kill other, thereby keeping their numbers in control.
Jind's deputy director of agriculture R P Sihag said, "At a time when other farmers invested Rs 5,000 per acre to control whitefly, these farmers spent just Rs 500 per acre to protect their crops by using homemade sprays." Suresh Ahlawat is one of them. He has planted fruit trees in five acres in Chhabri village and also grows wheat, mustard and bajra as intercropping on the same land, but doesn't use pesticides. Ahlawat said he had reduced input cost by 40% by adopting the new practice.
Master trainers of the group of farmers organize weekly "khet pathshalas" (field days) to educate farmers about their technique. Recently, the state agriculture department organized a visit of these farmers to Sisai village of Hisar district.
The National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated a study to know exact impact of that pattern of farm operations.
Haryana additional director (agriculture) Suresh Gahlawat said they could recommend such a practice to other areas of the state only after recommendations from the scientists based on some empirical study or scientific grounds.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Women-farmers-shun-pesticides-win-war-against-whitefly/articleshow/49282489.cms
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Black clouds over BT cotton as whitefly runs amok
Ikhhlaq Singh Aujla,TNN | Sep 9, 2015, 08.32 AM IST
CHANDIGARH: Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are perturbed over a sense of deja vu they are experiencing ever since the attack of the pest - the whitefly - on their BT cotton crop. It has unnerving similarities to attack of the American bollworm, colloquially known as 'Amrikan sundi,' in the 1990s and 2000s on hybrid cotton varieties. The bollworm attack had led farmers to shift to the BT variety post 2004 which resisted the pest. But the whitely has shown that the BT cotton too can be vulnerable, creating a crisis at a time when the monsoon has failed.
Both Punjab and Haryana account for about 11-12% of country's total cotton output, but the pest could cause a noticeable drop in average yields thereby hitting output as picking of cotton has begun in the region. In Haryana, area under cotton is 5.80 lakh hectares and in Punjab it is 4.50 lakh hectares this season.
In fact, much like the bollworm, pesticides sprayed has not been able to eliminate the whitefly that attacks the leaves of cotton plants. In the early 2002, cotton farmers had used so much pesticide against the whitefly that the chemical is believed to have affected the soil and groundwater. Many believe this is the reason behind a large number of cancer cases being detected among people in the cotton belt.
Farmers in many parts of Punjab and Haryana have even uprooted cotton for other crops in recent days. Baljinder Singh Sidhu from Kotbhara village in Bathinda said, "Build-up to the pest was so sudden that it caught us unawares. Many farmers in my village have uprooted cotton since the damage to the crop was massive."
Farmers fearful that whitefly would become more aggressive in coming seasons as prolonged hot, humid conditions without rainfall led to the growth of the pest and could spread to other states. "The yield could drop by about 15% this season in Punjab," said noted farm economist professor P S Rangi, marketing consultant, Punjab State Farmers Commission (PSFC).
Prof Ashok Dhawan, former head of the entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, said, "The whitefly attack can lead to 30%-40% drop in average yield in the affected areas. Spraying pesticides is not the best solution. Farmers need to follow a composite plan. We need varieties that are resistant," said Prof Dhawan.
An official from the Punjab agriculture department said, "We are organizing camps in villages and telling farmers to use recommended pesticides, but that is only a temporary measure. Enormity of the attack can't be quantified immediately as picking of cotton has just begun. One thing is sure that we need varieties of cotton that are resistant to whitefly, otherwise farmers are going to suffer just like they did when American bollworm ravaged huge swathes of cotton about two decades back."
In the 1990s and 2000s the American bollworm or 'Amrikan sundi' had become resistant to pesticides and ravaged thousands of hectares of hybrid cotton planted in both Punjab and Haryana. While the cost of inputs went up significantly, average yield of cotton dropped sharply, hitting the farmers hard. Their fortunes changed as the government allowed cultivation of BT cotton in March 2005 in both states with the nod from the genetic engineering approval committee (GEAC). Even before government clearance, farmers from Punjab's cotton belt, had started bringing BT seeds from Gujarat in a train that was referred to as "BT Express".
As per the data from the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), average yield of cotton in Punjab fell to 170kg per hectare in 1997-98 from 367kg per hectare in 1996-97, and in Haryana the average yield declined to 240kg per hectare from 354kg per hectare in the same period. Average yield of cotton dropped further to 151kg per hectare in 1998-99 in Punjab while Haryana also saw a decline to 204kg per hectare.
CHANDIGARH: Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are perturbed over a sense of deja vu they are experiencing ever since the attack of the pest - the whitefly - on their BT cotton crop. It has unnerving similarities to attack of the American bollworm, colloquially known as 'Amrikan sundi,' in the 1990s and 2000s on hybrid cotton varieties. The bollworm attack had led farmers to shift to the BT variety post 2004 which resisted the pest. But the whitely has shown that the BT cotton too can be vulnerable, creating a crisis at a time when the monsoon has failed.
Both Punjab and Haryana account for about 11-12% of country's total cotton output, but the pest could cause a noticeable drop in average yields thereby hitting output as picking of cotton has begun in the region. In Haryana, area under cotton is 5.80 lakh hectares and in Punjab it is 4.50 lakh hectares this season.
In fact, much like the bollworm, pesticides sprayed has not been able to eliminate the whitefly that attacks the leaves of cotton plants. In the early 2002, cotton farmers had used so much pesticide against the whitefly that the chemical is believed to have affected the soil and groundwater. Many believe this is the reason behind a large number of cancer cases being detected among people in the cotton belt.
Farmers in many parts of Punjab and Haryana have even uprooted cotton for other crops in recent days. Baljinder Singh Sidhu from Kotbhara village in Bathinda said, "Build-up to the pest was so sudden that it caught us unawares. Many farmers in my village have uprooted cotton since the damage to the crop was massive."
Farmers fearful that whitefly would become more aggressive in coming seasons as prolonged hot, humid conditions without rainfall led to the growth of the pest and could spread to other states. "The yield could drop by about 15% this season in Punjab," said noted farm economist professor P S Rangi, marketing consultant, Punjab State Farmers Commission (PSFC).
Prof Ashok Dhawan, former head of the entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, said, "The whitefly attack can lead to 30%-40% drop in average yield in the affected areas. Spraying pesticides is not the best solution. Farmers need to follow a composite plan. We need varieties that are resistant," said Prof Dhawan.
An official from the Punjab agriculture department said, "We are organizing camps in villages and telling farmers to use recommended pesticides, but that is only a temporary measure. Enormity of the attack can't be quantified immediately as picking of cotton has just begun. One thing is sure that we need varieties of cotton that are resistant to whitefly, otherwise farmers are going to suffer just like they did when American bollworm ravaged huge swathes of cotton about two decades back."
In the 1990s and 2000s the American bollworm or 'Amrikan sundi' had become resistant to pesticides and ravaged thousands of hectares of hybrid cotton planted in both Punjab and Haryana. While the cost of inputs went up significantly, average yield of cotton dropped sharply, hitting the farmers hard. Their fortunes changed as the government allowed cultivation of BT cotton in March 2005 in both states with the nod from the genetic engineering approval committee (GEAC). Even before government clearance, farmers from Punjab's cotton belt, had started bringing BT seeds from Gujarat in a train that was referred to as "BT Express".
As per the data from the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), average yield of cotton in Punjab fell to 170kg per hectare in 1997-98 from 367kg per hectare in 1996-97, and in Haryana the average yield declined to 240kg per hectare from 354kg per hectare in the same period. Average yield of cotton dropped further to 151kg per hectare in 1998-99 in Punjab while Haryana also saw a decline to 204kg per hectare.
However, the average yields started improving from 2005-06 as BT cotton cultivation was allowed in both states. Provisional figures from CAB put the average yield of cotton in 2013-14 to 704kg per hectare and 702kg per hectare in Punjab and Haryana respectively.
With BT cotton being resistant to American bollworm, area under these varieties shot up rapidly in Punjab and Haryana, which stands at over 90% in both states. While BT cotton varieties offered resistance to American bollworm, these are under the attack of whitefly in both Punjab and Haryana this season.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Black-clouds-over-BT-cotton-as-whitefly-runs-amok/articleshow/48878903.cms
