#bollworms

Cotton production in 2018-19 is likely to fall 4.7 per cent from the previous season to 34.8 million bales, as scant rainfall and an attack of pink bollworms are expected to squeeze crop yields, the head of a leading trade body told Reuters.

The drop in output could limit exports from the world’s biggest producer of the fibre amid rising demand from top consumer China and in turn support global prices, which are hovering near their lowest level in more than nine months hit last week.

“In Gujarat, we are expecting a big drop in production due to dry weather,” said Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India (CAI).

60 days after sowing: Pink bollworms attack Maha cotton crop again

Pink bollworms attack Maha cotton crop again

Maharashtra’s cotton crop, which has completed nearly 60 days after sowing, is already showing signs of a pink bollworm attack. Although the severity is yet to be known, cotton farmers in the state are already worried about the crop’s fate this season.

Maharashtra Agriculture Commissioner Sachenra Pratap Singh has said the department has already…

BOMBSHELL: Genetic modification proven ineffective — pests have become immune to the poison of modified crops in less than five years, but we still have to eat it

(General News) Last year, farmers around the world planted genetically modified crops like soybeans, corn and cotton across 240 million acres of land that create proteins from the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterium. Capable of killing pests like beetles and caterpillars, their effects on the environment and human health have long been the subject of much debate.

Those in favor of GMO crops –…

Drone-mounted cannon fires irradiated moths at crops

And if they’re using this on GM cotton, we should be able to give palpitations to every Luddite in the country! Keeping moths away from cotton is typically seen as a good thing. But the United States Department of Agriculture has other ideas. In a pilot program, they’re using drones to drop thousands of lab-grown pink bollworm moths directly onto the cotton fields. Drones are a cheaper delivery…