Cotton farmers in North India has recently been considering shifting from cotton to paddy, maize, and guar due to severe issues like PBW (pink bollworm) infestation.
About the Pink Bollworm (PBW):
- The Pink Bollworm (PBW), scientifically known as Pectinophora gossypiella, primarily targets cotton crops, burrowing into cotton bolls to feed on the seeds, thus damaging both weight and quality.
- PBW is resistant to the first generation transgenic Bt cotton and common insecticides like profenofos and chlorpyrifos have limited effects on it.
- Besides cotton, it also infests other plants like bhendi and holly hock; it is monophagous, depending heavily on cotton for its nutritional, developmental, and reproductive needs.
- PBW is distributed across Asia (India, Pakistan), Africa, and Australia; adults appear as small, thin gray moths with fringed wings, while larvae are dull white caterpillars with pink banding and eight pairs of legs.
Ref:Source
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