Hisar, September 22 The farmers, especially cotton growers, will soon be able to control the pest attacks without using pesticides.

The entomologists at HAU have come up with a natural control for the mealy bug- a pest of cotton crop which destroys crops every year.

This news will certainly not please the critics of genetically modified (GM) seeds.

Certain reports have raised doubts over biotech crops, but they are as safe as conventional ones and the success of Bt cotton can be replicated in other crops.

Despite a ban, Bt cotton cultivation is widespread in Orissa the recent death of 93 goats after grazing near a cotton field in Bolangir, a tribal-dominated district in Orissa, has put the authorities on alert. The field in Kuthurla village, Khaprakhol block, was reportedly under Bt cotton cultivation. The state government discourages cultivation of Bt cotton as a matter of policy.

Bs Reporter / New Delhi September 05, 2008, 0:45 IST

The government

The US steals Kamal Nath

Ron Herring

Neither duped nor innumerate, cotton farmers face extreme challenges

Chandan Kishore Kant / Mumbai August 22, 2008, 5:32 IST

The government is likely to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of cotton by 40 per cent or more for the cotton year 2008-09, according to official sources.
At a time when inflation has touched 12.63 per cent for the week ended August 9, such a measure may spell trouble for the $45-billion domestic textile industry.

Senior officials in the Ministry of Textiles told Business Standard that the prices of medium long stable cotton is likely to be increased to Rs 2,500 a quintal from the current MSP of 1,900 a quintal.