MULTAN: Director, Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan Dr. Zahid Mahmood has advised farmers to allow animal grazing in their cotton fields after the last cotton picking for prevention of pink bollworm attack on the next crop and the nearby cropland

Animals such as buffalo, cows, goats, and sheep would eat the remaining cotton bolls and kill the pink bollworm or their Larvae inside the bolls. Farmers can also apply pink bollworm manager machine to counter pink bollworm threat and can seek CCRI Multan experts’ help for the purpose.

Dr. Zahid said the farmers wanting to use cotton remains as fuelwood, should cut the sticks and rest them against a wall in a perpendicular position, and be exposed to the sunlight to kill the pink bollworm. The position of the sticks should be changed regularly for even exposure before sunlight, and the trash from sticks be burnt or buried.

The press release concluded, Farmers should apply Rotavator to destroy cotton roots and kill the pink bollworm hidden in the soil.