The Centre has issued directives to cotton-producing states like Punjab and Haryana to ensure timely sowing of the crop and use of only recommended seeds for preventing white fly attack, which caused significant damage to the crop last year.
States have been directed to keep a close watch on the movement of white fly and ensure timely sprinkling of pesticides to check its menace.
"Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry has issued extensive directives to the states producing cotton to check the adverse affect of white fly on cotton," an official statement said today.
The directives have been issued in view of the "likely menace to the crop of cotton in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan from white fly", it said.
White fly had inflicted tremendous damage to cotton last year in Punjab and Haryana.
The Agriculture Ministry has taken various preventive measures in this regard which includes elaborate assessment and analysis about the loss inflicted last year.
The Central Cotton Research Regional Centre, Sirsa (Haryana) has recently held a meeting with officials of the Agriculture Ministry, scientists of ICAR and senior officials of Departments of Agriculture from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to look into the matter.
"After the review, the Government of India has forwarded extensive directives to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
"The directives say that the sowing process may be carried out within the precincts of scheduled timeframe, only recommended seeds might be utilised, close watch might be kept on the movement of pests and timely sprinkling to check its spread," the statement said.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has also provided a list of the pest-resistant seeds for the farmers. "This year emphasis is being given on the timely sowing of cotton".
The sowing process of cotton would set in from the beginning of April in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
India's cotton output is estimated to be 353 lakh bales for the 2015-16 season, which began on October 1, as against 382.75 lakh bales in the previous year, according to Cotton Association of India (CAI).
Crop damage in the northern region due to the white fly attack this year remains a cause of concern, CAI had said.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Haryana government had announced compensation of Rs 967 crore for farmers whose cotton crop was damaged due to the white fly and Leaf Curl virus attack during last kharif season.
