Agriculture Minister urges farmers to use PAU recommended cotton seeds
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh, March 11-
On the onset of cotton sowing season, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare department has intensified efforts to expand the acreage of the crop, often referred to as ‘white gold’, while ensuring the availability of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)-certified cotton seeds to the farmers across the state.
Punjab cabinet minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, along with ACS Anurag Verma and VC of PAU Dr. Satbir Singh Gosal, held a meeting to review the preparations made by the department for upcoming sowing of the Kharif crops in the state.
During the meeting, the Agriculture Minister highlighted that PAU has recommended 87 varieties of hybrid cotton seeds for cultivation in the state during the upcoming Kharif season. He urged farmers to use only these recommended certified seeds to maximise their yield.
To address the persistent issue of pink bollworm infestation, Khudian said that the department has deployed 264 nodal officers across seven southwestern districts- Bathinda-70, Fazilka-41, Sri Muktsar Sahib-62, Mansa-42, Sangrur-20, Barnala-16, Faridkot-13.