Whitefly attack on early cotton cause of concern for growers

MULTAN: The early cotton varieties sown till April 15 over an area of over one million acres are facing whitefly stress in South Punjab districts, agriculture officials revealed. The major insect pests of cotton are thrips, jassids, whiteflies, aphids, mites, spotted bollworms, pink bollworms, and American bollworms.

The insect pest infestation causes deterioration in lint quality, and 10-40 percent losses in crop production have been noted. However, the whitefly attack is imminent on early sown cotton. Whitefly is a serious pest of cotton that lowers yield by feeding on the underside of the leaf and spreading diseases like Cotton Leaf Curl Virus. Whiteflies feed on the sap of the leaves and release fluid onto the leaves, on which a black fungus grows, cotton scientists said. Growers say whitefly attacks on early-down cotton varieties make them sleepless. Jam Safdar Samija is a small grower in village Multaniwala who sown early cotton in mid-April last on his five acres of land, and the progress was promising.

He diligently provided water and fertiliser to the cotton plants and continued to spray pesticides for up to 10 days after the appearance of pests. However, whitefly hotspots appear in his cotton field. Whiteflies are sucking insects, and their feeding removes nutrients from the plant. Feeding high populations may result in stunting, poor growth, defoliation, boll shed, and reduced yields. As they feed, whiteflies produce large quantities of honeydew, which, if deposited on fibres, will reduce cotton quality and may interfere with picking, ginning, and spinning. Honeydew also supports the growth of black sooty moulds that stain lint, lowering its quality.Both B. tabaci biotypes are efficient vectors of the cotton leaf crumple virus (CLCV), a geminivirus. Whiteflies are also a bit sneaky.