The antagonistic potential of seventeen fungal isolates (15 Trichoderma harzianum and 2 Fusarium solani isolates) indigenous to the western Himalayan region of India, was evaluated in vitro and in glasshouse against two important stages (sclerotia and mycelium) in the infection cycle of three plant pathogens (Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotina sclerotiorum and Sclerotium rolfsii).

Losses caused due to different insect pests under field conditions on four transgenic cotton hybrids (RCH 134, RCH 317, MRC 6301 and MRC 6304) were estimated in three districts of Punjab viz. Mansa, Ferozepur and Bathinda.

The study was conducted in three districts of Punjab to find out the indigenous techniques for management of insect-pests and their scientific background. It was revealed that several indigenous practices are useful for pest management and are relevant even in modern agriculture.

Studies on the population of key pests and natural enemies in RCH 134 Bt and non-Bt cotton hybrid under sprayed and unsprayed conditions were carried out under intercropped conditions. The cotton crop was intercropped with okra, pigeon pea, castor and cowpea to enhance the population build up of cotton jasid, whitefly, spotted bollworm and coccinellids.

A field trial was conducted during 2007-2008 crop season to study the effect of castor as a trap crop in cotton agroecosystem in relation to major insect pests. The treatments were 5, 10 and 15 rows of Bt cotton interspersed each with 1 row of castor, respectively, sole crop of Bt cotton and castor.

There is a need for identifying some additional effective pest management strategies, which could also augment integrated pest management (IPM). In this scenario, RNA interference (RNAi) offers a great deal of hope in successful mitigation of various insect pests. RNAi has been increasingly used in establishing the gene functions in various spheres of research in entomology after its discovery in the free-living nematode, Caenorhaditis elegans.

The Directorate of Economics and Statistics, MOA, GOI asked the Agro-Economic Research Centre, Vallabh Vidyanagar to undertake a study to assess the economics and other impact of Bt cotton vs. non Bt cotton using field data. Two districts namely, Rajkot and Vadodara having different agro climatic location and having notable acreage under Bt. cotton were selected purposively.