Date:04/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070451951700.htm

Back AP to grow cotton on 11.8 lakh hectares

A cotton field

K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad, July 3

Andhra Pradesh, one of the leading cotton growing States in the country, is expected to grow the crop on 11.80 lakh hectares 2009-10 as against Rs 13.98 lakh ha last year.

Despite a likely shortfall of two lakh ha, the State hopes to register production to the tune of 35.40 lakh bales as against 34.62 lakh bales last year.

“We can produce more as the yields are going to be better at 510 kg/hectare. You compare this with 421 kg/ha in 2008-09,” a senior Angriculture Department official told Business Line.

“Last year’s area was all-time high in the State. It generally hovers around 11 lakh ha since 2001-02 when the production was just at 18.77 lakh bales. The kg/ha yield was just 286 then,” the official said.

Production levels fell significantly in 2003 and 2004 as area dropped to eight lakh ha.

Yield

Interestingly, the yield level was the highest so far at 525 kg/ha in 2007-08 when the crop area was 11.34 lakh ha, 50,000 ha lower than the current year’s targetted area.

Using Central funds, the Department is planning to organise 718 ‘Farmer field schools’, with each school comprising 30 farmers. “The farmers would be trained in the latest production and protection technologies to help them take better crop management decisions,” the official said.

The Department was also planning to supply manually-operated and power-operated sprayers at 50 per cent subsidy. Besides, it would popularise eco-friendly pest-control methods. In a bid to keep tabs on spurious seed manufacturers, about 400 Bt cotton seed detection kits would be given to farmers.