Farmers To Get Crop-friendly Pest Free-of-cost

LAHORE, (Muzaffargarh.City – 13th Feb, 2017 ) : Punjab Agriculture Department has planned to distribute crop-friendly pest among farmers free-of-cost. As many as 11 biological laboratories in the province have been made operational to develop one million Crysopa, a crop-friendly pest, a spokesman for the department told the media, here on Monday.

He said that the step would help obtain better cotton production during the next cotton-sowing season. Crysopa eats enemy pests including white fly, Jassid and Aphid and thus reduces cost of pesticides and subsequently decreases pesticides residual effect on the lint.

The initiative was a step forward to encourage farmers prefer biological control techniques over the use of pesticides with the objective of reducing cost and improving per acre production and its quality, he said.

He said that Crysopa eats 329 white flies, 288 Jassid and 100 Aphid in his life span of five to seven days. Development of Crysopa was in progress at biological control laboratories at Layyah, Vehari, Muzaffargarh, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Sahiwal, Okara, Pakpattan and Sheikhupura etc., he added.

The Agriculture Department has also started production of Trichogramma – another beneficial pest for using it to protect the crops, he said.