The Agriculture Department on Tuesday warned farmers against purchase of fake Bt cotton seeds which will result in crop loss. The department wanted all farmers who had purchased seeds of suspicious origin not to sow them and save themselves the trouble.
Addressing a press conference here, Adilabad Joint Director of Agriculture K. Koteshwar Rao and Agriculture Officer (Technical) K. Shiva Kumar said they raided the house of one Kova Bheem Rao at Devuguda in Utnoor mandal on credible information. The raid yielded 36 packets of Bt II cotton seeds being marketed by the brand names Baba Ramdev and Sri Ganesh and the accused was subsequently arrested by the Utnoor police.
“Bheem Rao was selling the seed packets on credit which makes farmers purchase them. The seeds will germinate but the crop will get damaged during the flowering stage,” the JDA said.
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Mr. Koteshwar Rao said the department would be conducting meetings with grass-roots level public representatives to apprise them of the issue. The public representatives would be urged to appeal to their constituents not to purchase such seeds, he added.
Officials warn farmers against purchasing fake Bt cotton seeds