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Saturday, May 07, 2005

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Six cotton hybrids approved for Punjab

Staff Correspondent

These would need less pesticide and lead to hike in yield

CHANDIGARH: The Union Government as well as the Punjab Government have conceded a long-pending demand of some cotton growers in the State by granting approval to six varieties of Bt. cotton hybrids for commercial cultivation.

According to an official release here, the announcement was made by the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, while addressing a gathering of farmers on the occasion of the 5th award presentation ceremony for the best cotton growers of the State. The function was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Bathinda on Friday morning.

Advising the farmers to use only prescribed varieties of Hybrid Bt. Cotton, the Chief Minister said that RCH 134 Bt., RCH 317 Bt., Ankur 651 Bt., Ankur 2534 Bt., MRC 6301 Bt. and MRC 6304 Bt varieties had been cleared by Government of India. He said that these varieties would require lesser number of sprays for the control of pests like American Bollworm, leading to a net saving of Rs. 4000 to 5000 per hectare. Besides, an increase of 25 to 28 per cent in the yield as compared to the normal hybrids could also be expected. The cultivation of these hybrids would reduce the environmental contamination and pesticide residue problems in the cottonseed.

Capt Singh stressed the need to shift from wheat-paddy rotation as the water table was receded alarmingly creating a situation where most farmers were not in a position to install submersible pumps.

He favoured increased cultivation of oil-seeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables, which not only had ready market but also were far less irrigation intensive as compared to paddy.

The Chief Minister went to say that for the state's ambitious diversification programme, cotton was an important crop, as its economic returns were comparable to paddy. Last year, the production of cotton in the state touched 20.87 lakh bales, with an all time high record of productivity of 697 Kgs per hectare. During 2002-03 production of cotton stood at 10.83 lakh bales and 14.78 lakh bales in 2003-04, he noted.

Speaking on the occasion, Punjab's Finance and Planning Minister, Surinder Singla, said that to improve the marketing facilities for cotton growers, the state government had decided to establish a textile centre in Bathinda. He added that five major textile players would set up their units in the area.

Prominent amongst others who spoke on the occasion included Chairman, CII National Committee on Textiles, S.P. Oswal, who is also the Chairman cum Managing Director Vardhman Group, Director of Bathinda Regional Station of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Dulcha Singh Brar, Director of Agriculture, B.S. Sidhu and President of Punjab Cotton Factories & Ginner's Association, Bhagwan Bansal.

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