Pink bollworm, a pest that left farmers of Raichur devastated last year by destroying Bt cotton crops, has now reached Haveri district, where cotton is grown in about 1 lakh hectares annually. This has once again raised questions over claims of immunity from pink bollworm made by Bt cotton seed companies.
While the scientific community is yet to begin any study in Haveri district and independent experts and officials of the Agriculture Department differ over the extent and severity of the pest attack, that the pest is affecting crops is undeniable.
Committee visitA recent visit by a fact-finding committee comprising of environmentalists and farm experts revealed that the summer cotton crop (cultivated during summer in irrigated land) has fallen prey to the pink bollworm attack. An independent team comprising of the former Assistant Director of Agriculture Kumaraswamy, organic farming activist Vasu P. and environmentalist Manjunath Holalu recently visited farmlands at Devi Hosur and Boodagatti in Haveri taluk and Gangapur in Ranebennur taluk and found the crop damaged.
“Initial study suggests pink bollworm attack in villages of Haveri and Ranebennur taluks only on the summer cotton crop and it is severe. While there is no report yet on the kharif cotton, the possibility of pink bollworm spreading cannot be ruled out as it is a monophagous insect (single host pest),” Mr. Holalu told The Hindu .
“We found labels of all the branded Bt cotton seeds claiming immunity to the crop from all types of bollworm, including pink bollworm, which is misleading. Farmers believe that Bt cotton is resistant to pink bollworm, but we see that it is not,” he said.
Mr. Holalu pointed out that a report, dated October 1, 2015, of the Crop Forecast Coordination Centre of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare had mentioned about pink bollworm attack in Gujarat and said reports suggested that resistance of Bt (Bollgard II) cotton to pink bollworm had been breached. “Despite this, companies continue to advertise their seeds as pink bollworm resistant, and no action is being taken,” he said.
Although Joint Director of Agriculture of Haveri district Rajshekhar I.B. admitted pink bollworm attack on the summer cotton crop in the district, he said it was “not of alarming level”. “Summer cotton crop is cultivated on around 1,010 hectares of land in the district while kharif sowing is in 69,000 hectares. Of this, the pest is noticed in 500 hectares and pest attack is not of alarming level. But as a precautionary measure we have taken steps to sensitise farmers,” he said.
