NAGPUR: A day after a farmer from Nimboli village of Dhamangaon Railway tehsil flattened his cotton crop in three acres out of sheer desperation, the state government on Monday issued a government resolution (GR) authoring setting up of special committees in each cotton growing district to fight the pink bollworm pest marauding the state’s biggest cash crop.Mangesh Sonone of Nimboli village was so disturbed by the extent of pink bollworm attack in his field that he found uprooting the standing crop using a tractor the best option. “Let us show they can salvage the crop for others,” he told TOI on Tuesday. Sonone seems to have sown quite early on June 9 and never expected such a swift attack within two months as pink bollworm normally appears and breeds on no moon (Amavasya) night.“Farmers are now trying their best like illuminating the field with high voltage halogen lights on the Amavasya night, using pheromone traps , high potency sprays etc. But my cotton crop was beyond all that so I had to destroy it,” he said. “All this increases the costs. Maybe some others will succeed in warding off the pest,” said Sonone.The agriculture department on Monday issued an order to form district-level special committees to fight the pink bollworm menace. Noting that cotton was one of the biggest cash crops of the state grown in 42 lakh hectares across Vidarbha, Marathwada and Khandesh regions, the order said the 13-member panel headed by collector in each of the cotton-growing district would coordinate the preventive measures with strict monitoring every 15 days.Strangely, the GR acknowledged that genetically-altered Bt seeds, vastly used by farmers for good yields, had failed to curb the bollworm attack last year too. “If they knew it why did the government not ban its use and given some alternatives to farmers,” asked Shrikant Deshpande , a progressive farmer from the same area who took a decision of avoiding cotton and shifting to soyabean, tur and turmeric in his 32 acre land this season..The monitoring panel led by district collector would comprise agriculture officials, information department officers, progressive farmers, representatives of agriculture university, research bodies with thrust on spreading awareness among farmers on measures to check the pest attack.

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