Encouraging in its own way is the revelation made in a Recorder Report about the decision of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) to introduce a new CCLV-resistant cotton variety next year to control the cotton curl leaf virus (CCLV).
This has followed big losses from attack of CCLV that took a big toll of cotton crop in 1992-93 when its output nose-dived to 9.05 million bales from over 12 million bales. Thereafter in 1993-94, cotton yield was just 8.04 million bales while in 1994-95, it was 8.06 million bales. A break was noted from the introduction of different varieties of CCLV resistant to some extent. However, it was only short-lived.
In 2005 CCLV appeared to have staged a comeback with a vengeance. Little wonder, in 2006 the crop suffered a heavy loss of a million bales costing Rs 2.4 billion. This was the beginning of cotton growers' plight and increasing woes of the nation's economy.
It is, however, another matter that on its part Minfal continued to spare no effort to ensure evolution of a new CCLV-resistant cotton variety. This had become a compulsion simply because CCLV could in no way be eliminated with spray of strongest disinfectants.
As a sequel to the untiring efforts of researchers in the overall effort, introduction in 2006 of a new variety of NIBGE-2 cotton revived hopes of good riddance from the menace of CCLV, as the NIBGE indicated considerable resistance to seemingly unconquerable virus. However, the motivated team of researchers does not appear to have let their guard fall.
This should become fairly evident from the prospect of release next year of another variety of cotton, NIBGE 115, with hopes of its effectiveness in combating the highly dreaded CCLV virus. However, reliance on this variety alone would be unwise. For growers have been resenting government's failure in introducing 'Bt Cotton' in the domestic market, while some people from the private sector had smuggled BT cotton seed from India.
On the other hand, Minfal seems to believe that BT cotton cannot be resistant to CCLV in any respect, as it is resistant to insects only. Reference, in this regard, has been made to the existence of a unique Bt gene that produces poisonous protein in the DNA of the plant. So, when any insect attacks the plant, this protein debilitates its organs completely.
That is how the Bt cotton is resistant to insects. That may be why Minfal seems to believe that Bt cotton is resistant to insects alone and not to CCLV. Nevertheless, growers are seen holding the ministry at fault for non-introduction of Bt cotton for in any case it has been found effective in guarding cotton to a considerable extent.
But Minfal is not convinced as the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Multan, is reported to be making efforts to introduce a CCLV-resistant variety, the expected launch of which by 2008, hopefully, would help increase our cotton production.
Be that as it may, the fact remains that the silver fibre which has added in no small a way to the national economy's gainful growth has remained lately best by numerous challenges, notwithstanding successes achieved of increasing its output during a couple of decades. From all indications, cotton appears to have become a problem crop.
Besides production shortfalls, post-harvest problems, mostly from lack of care to ensure abundant availability of clean cotton, has added a new dimension to the woes of cotton economy, hitting its industrial users. Needless to point out, an objective analysis of the overall situation leads to the conclusion that all is not well on the cotton front, which constitutes one of the main pillars of the national economy.
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