MULTAN - The government is providing complete support to agriculture scientists in their research aimed at developing the cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV) resistant varieties to increase national cotton production, officials said on Friday.
A team of section officers from Textile and Industry Division of the Ministry of Commerce including Zahid Aziz (crop wing) and Muhamnmad Yousuf (Admin) made these observations during a visit to Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan.
The officials witnessed fields of new Bt cotton varieties including BTCIM-616 and BTCYTO-177 besides other experimental fields sown with germplams having resistance or tolerance against CLCV as part of national coordinated varietal trial (NCVT), says a release issued by CCRI Multan spokesperson Masud Shafi here Friday.
Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) Director Cess Chaudhry Muhammad Afzal, a scientist who has developed BTCIM- 616, briefed the officials on research activities and targets. BTCYTO-177 was developed by CCRI Multan director Zahid Iqbal Anjum.
Afzal said that CCRI Multan had developed eighteen cotton varieties including those having Bt gene and all were high yielding and gave good quality fibre.
CCRI Agronomy wing head Dr Dil Bagh Muhammad informed the officials that the institute had been disseminating knowledge on latest cotton technology among growers which included cost effective techniques of wheat sowing in the standing cotton crop, better application of water and fertilizers, sowing on ridges, pest scouting techniques and low cost techniques to save the crop from disaeases and pests.