LAHORE: The province of Punjab has so far achieved 3.366 million bales of cotton during the current season which is 64.4 percent higher than the previous year when the province produced 2.047 million bales.

This was disclosed at a cotton review meeting held on Saturday with Punjab Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo in the chair. Attributing this to incentives announced by the Punjab government, the Secretary hoped that more production of cotton would lead to the prosperity of the farmers and the stability of economy.

He further said this year the agriculture department will continue to work side by side with the farmers in the fields until the picking of the last bolls to achieve more per acre production of cotton.

In the meeting, Additional Secretary Agriculture, Task Force, Punjab, Muhammad Shabir Ahmed Khan, Director General Agriculture, Pest Warning, Punjab Rana Faqir Ahmad, Consultant Agriculture Extension Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali, Director Agriculture, Extension, Lahore Headquarters Farooq Javed and other senior officers were present.

While giving a briefing on this occasion, the Secretary Agriculture was informed that cotton picking process was going on in Punjab. In the current year, the average weight of cotton boll had been recorded as 2.93 grams, while last year it was 2.59 grams. Thus, the average weight of cotton boll had increased by 13% this year.

Due to the ongoing campaign for the control of cotton pests and favourable weather conditions, the intensity of the pest attack has been reduced. However, monitoring in cotton fields is ongoing and any reported hotspot areas are being sprayed with advanced chemistry pesticides immediately.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023