Cotton production in India

Cotton production in India

News: The pink bollworm has taken a toll on the fibre crop, even as new “mating disruption” technologies to control the pest are showing promise.

About Cotton:
• Cotton is a versatile crop known for its white fluffy fibre, oil-rich seeds, and protein-rich seed cake. It has various uses, including textiles, cooking oil, and livestock feed.
• Cotton is a tropical and sub-tropical crop
• Climate – 21-30 degree C and minimum 180 frost free days
• Rainfall – 50-100 cm
• Sunny days are important at all stages of growth, particularly during flowering and maturity stages.
• States - Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are the major cotton producing states which produce about 65% of cotton production in the country.
• Soil - Black Soil (Regur Soil)

Significance of Cotton for India:
• Cotton in India provides food, feed, and fibre, making it a crucial crop for agriculture and the textile sector.
• After harvesting cotton (Kapas), the breakdown is approximately 36% fibre, 62% seeds, and 2% waste. Cottonseed is essential for vegetable oil and feed cake production.
• Cottonseed oil is the third-largest domestically produced vegetable oil in India, following mustard and soyabean. It also ranks second in feed cake production, with soybeans leading.
• Cotton is the dominant fibre in India’s textile industry, accounting for about two-thirds of the total consumption.

Why is Cotton production declining in India?
• The Bt. Cotton earlier used to protect against pests like American Bollworm and pink bollworm but by 2014, pink bollworms developed resistance to Bt proteins, causing widespread infestations and yield reductions.
• Decreased diversity in the cotton varieties has increased the scale of infestation.
• Growing Pest infestation has discouraged farmers from cultivating cotton.
• Traditional insecticides had limited efficacy against PBW larvae, affecting lint quality and yields.

About Mating Disruption technology:
• Mating disruption involves the use of sex pheromones to prevent male insects finding females and mating. Pheromones are chemicals produced by an insect to communicate in some way with others of the same species.

About Pink Bollworm:
• Pink bollworm is an insect that is a pest of cotton crops. It is a small, gray moth with a pink-banded caterpillar. It damages the cotton bolls by feeding on the seeds and lint, and also allows entry for other pests and diseases.
• It is native to Asia, but has spread to other cotton-growing regions of the world. It can be controlled by cultural, biological, and chemical methods.