Cotton is one of the most significant fiber and cash crop of India playing a dominant role in the agricultural and industrial economy of the country. Cotton is called a cash crop because as it is grown specifically for selling. It is generally easy to grow and there is a marketable need for cotton in our economy resulting in many farmers being eager to grow it. Today, the world uses more cotton than any other fibers and has hundreds of uses in our day to day lives. Bollworms are the most damaging pests which attack on squares, buds, flowers and bolls. Severe bollworm attack, if not properly managed can cause complete failure of the cotton crop as all fruiting bodies may be destroyed. Of all of them, the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) is one of the most destructive pests of cotton.
It bores into cotton bolls, devouring blossoms and seeds. The pinkish coloured larva generally pupates in a cocoon inside a boll or seed. As the larva burrows within a boll, lint is cut and stained, resulting in severe quality loss.The everchanging climatic conditions, shortage of labour, increased incidence of pests and diseases necessitated the need to develop new technologies that can help farmer to generate adequate income without incurring in loss. It is here that High density planting system helps the farmers to over these problems. The high-density planting system (HDPS) in cotton is referred to as narrow row spacing system and uses short duration semi compact cotton varieties. This method limits the boll number, maximizes the no. of bolls per unit area and helps to get high 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 synchronous bursting producing cotton fibre with good quality. Usually, 25000 plant population per acre are maintained with spacings of 90×15 cm or 80×20 cm or 75×25 cm. There can be a yield of 12 – 14 quintals and reducing the problems of labour shortage and incidence of pink boll worm. It increases production and net return per unit area.In view of this, KVK, Wyra has organised workshop and field day on “High Density Planting System in Cotton” in its field on 12.10.2023 for creating awareness and popularizing this farmer friendly technology. The farmers were clearly sensitized on the advantages of this fast-growing technology. The meeting was participated by Dr. J. Hemantha Kumar, Associate Dean and Dr. K. Gopala Krishna Murthy, Associate Professor from Agricultural College, Aswaraopeta, Dr. G. Veeranna, Principal Scientist (Cotton) and Dr. S. Om Prakash, Scientist (Entomology) from RARS, Warangal, Smt. K. Naga Swathi from Ars, Madhira, Dr. A. Sailaja, Programme Coordinator, scientists Dr. K. Ravi Kumar, Dr. Jessie Suneetha W and Dr. V. Chaitanya with IV BSc (Agriculture) RAWEP students and farmers. The queries concerning the technology were cleared by the Associate Dean, Programme Coordinator, and scientists.
Read more: https://pjtsau.edu.in/kvk-wyra-field-day-hdps-cotton-12-10-2023.html
