Training Programme on Management of Pink Boll Worm at Pallipadu (V), Konijerla (M) on 04.11.2022

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber growing from a boll or protective case around the seeds of cotton plants belonging to genus Gossypium . The fiber is almost pure cellulose and can contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectin and water. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread to make a soft, breathable and durable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times as fragments of cotton fabric dated to the 5500 BC were found in the remnants of Indus Valley civilization. Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today. In the present times, more cotton is used than any other fiber with hundreds of uses in our day to day lives. Cotton is used to make a number of textile products including terrycloth for highly absorbent bath towels and robes, denim for blue jeans, cambric used in the manufacture of blue work shirts and corduroy, seersucker and cotton twill. It is a preferred material for sheets as it is hypoallergenic, easy to maintain and non-irritant to skin. The cottonseed is crushed in order to separate its three products which are oil, meal and hulls. The refined seed oil extracted from the kernels can be used as a cooking oil or in salad dressings. It is also used in the production of shortening and margarine. Cotton grown for the extraction of cottonseed oil is one of major crops grown around the world for the production of oil, after soy, corn, and canola. The meal and hulls that remain are used either separately or in combination as livestock, poultry and fish feed and as fertilizer. The stalks and leaves of the cotton plant are plowed under to enrich the soil. Genetically modified (GM) cotton was developed to reduce the heavy reliance on pesticides. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) naturally produces a chemical harmful only to a small fraction of insects, most notably the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles and flies, and harmless to other forms of life. The gene coding for Bt toxin has been inserted into cotton, causing cotton called Bt cotton that produces natural insecticide in its tissues. In many regions, the main pests in commercial cotton are lepidopteran larvae, which are killed by the Bt protein in the transgenic cotton they eat. This eliminates the need to use large amounts of broad-spectrum insecticides to kill lepidopteran pests. Bollworms are the most damaging pests attacking the squares, buds, flowers and bolls. Severe bollworm attack, if not properly managed can cause complete failure of the cotton crop as all fruiting bodies will be destroyed. The pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) is an insect known for being a pest in cotton farming. The adult is a small, thin and a gray moth with fringed wings. The larva is a dull white caterpillar with eight pairs of legs with conspicuous pink banding along its dorsum reaching to one half inch in length. The female moth lays eggs and when the larvae emerge from the eggs, they inflict damage through feeding. They chew through the cotton lint to feed on the seeds. Since cotton is used for both fiber and seed oil with twofold damage. Their disruption of the protective tissue around the boll is a portal of entry for other insects and fungi causing greater loss to the crop. The erratic climatic conditions, labour costs, increased occurrence of pests and diseases entailed the necessity to develop new technologies to help farmers generate desired income without incurring in loss. It is here that High density planting system (HDPS) in cotton helps the farmers to over these problems with narrow row spacing system and use of short duration semi compact varieties / hybrids. This method limits the boll number, maximizes the no. of bolls per unit area and helps to rake higher yield in the shortest area possible. As the number of bolls per plant are few, the fruiting window or flowering period is short and plants mature early with simultaneous bursting producing good quality cotton fibre. Usually, 25000 plant population per acre are maintained with spacings of 90x15 cm or 80x20 cm or 75x25 cm. There can be a yield of 12 – 14 quintals and reduces problems of labour shortage and to a certain extent incidence of pink boll worm. In view of this, KVK, Wyra has organized a training programme on “Management of pink boll worm in cotton” at Pallipadu (V), Konijerla (M) on 04.11.2022 to local cotton growing farmers. The training programme was attended by Mr. K. Srinivas Rao, ATMA Chairman, Mr. Siva, RBS coordinator, Mr. Babu Rao, ADA. Wyra Division, Mr. Balaji, AO, Konijerla (M), Dr. J. Hemantha Kumar, Programme Coordinator, scientists Dr. K. Ravi Kumar, Dr. Jessie Suneetha W and Dr. V. Chaitanya along with AEOs of Konijerla (M) and RAWEP students. The queries were cleared by Programme Coordinator, scientists and agriculture department officials. The scientists, department officials, farmers and students conducted diagnostic field visit to near by chilli farms and observed incidence of wilt and thrips.