Making a case of large-scale Mealybug infestations damaging their Bt Cotton produce,farmers of Amreli district have approached the district administration to adopt measures for preventing the spread of the menace that has been on the rise for the last two years. Jitendra Dabhi,District Agriculture Officer,Panchayat Department,Amreli,who had visited the infected crops on the request of the farmers few days ago,said: Nearly 2,63,000 hectares of land in Amreli is under Bt Cotton,of which almost 10 per cent is infested with pests like Mealybug and Aphids. Pesticides like Neem oil can cure this menace that has particularly increased during the last two years. The administration is extending the farmers all possible help. Bhikhu Borisagar,a farmer of Pati village of Khambha taluka,said: These infestations increase during the months of October and November. We have been facing this problem since the Kharif season of 2007. Now,these pests have spread to every Bt Cotton growing village in the district. Another farmer,Ravji Variya,of the same taluka,said,Although,we are using the pesticides as advised by the scientists and the administration,these measures are clearly not enough to prevent further spread. M D Khanpara,Associate Research Scientist at Regional Cotton Research Station,Junagadh Agricultural University,has been aiding the farmers. He said,We have been trying to control the pests for the last two years with good effect. Meanwhile,the All India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA),an industry association of the major companies engaged in agricultural bio-technology in India,continues to deny that there is any relation between Bt Cotton and pests like Mealybug. Sajiv Anand,Director,AICBA,said: Bt Cotton has not brought pests like Mealybug. These have always been there. There is no relation between Bt Cotton and Mealybug. Anand was in Ahmedabad recently. R S Phogat,Head of Department,Biotechnology,Anand Agriculture University,echoed Anands views while downplaying the opposition to genetically modified crops. He said,Even the widely reported damage caused by Mealybug infestation on Bt Cotton crops in Gujarat is not true.
