COTTON
PRODUCTION – GEOGRAPHY
News:
India’s falling cotton
production: the causes for worry, and the solutions
What's
in the news?
●
The pink bollworm has taken a toll on the
fibre crop, even as new “mating disruption” technologies to control the pest
are showing promise.
Story
of Cotton production in India:
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Between 2000-01 and 2013-14, India’s
cotton production, in terms of lint, almost tripled from 140 lakh to 398 lakh
bales of 170 kg each.
●
So did the output of oil and cake to
nearly 1.5Million Tonnes (MT) and 4.5MT respectively. This was significantly
enabled by Bt technology.
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From 2002, Indian farmers began planting
genetically-modified (GM) cotton hybrids incorporating genes isolated from a
soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt.
●
The Bt genes coded for proteins toxic to
the deadly Helicoverpa armigera or
American bollworm insect pest.
●
As
the share of Bt hybrids in the country’s area sown under cotton touched 95%,
average per-hectare lint yields more than doubled from 278 kg in 2000-01 to 566
kg in 2013-14.
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The Bt toxins were originally supposed to
provide protection against both the Helicoverpa and PBW caterpillars that burrow
into the balls or fruits of the cotton plant in which the lint and seeds grow.
●
However, in 2014, an unusually large
survival of PBW larvae was detected on cotton flowers at 60-70 days after
sowing in Gujarat.
●
This starts the resistance of pink bollworm
against the Bt cotton. Being monophagous enabled the PBW larvae to develop
resistance to Bt proteins over time.
Subsequent
Yield Decline:
●
However, post-2013-14, cotton production
and yields started declining, reaching about 343 lakh bales and 447 kg/hectare
by 2022-23.
Reasons
for falling cotton production:
1.
Development of Pink Bollworm (PBW) Resistance to Bt Cotton:
●
Initially, Bt cotton protected against
pests like the American bollworm and pink bollworm.
●
But by 2014, pink bollworms developed
resistance to Bt proteins, causing widespread infestations and yield
reductions.
2.
Shift from Non-Bt Cotton Cultivation:
●
Decreased diversity in cotton varieties
increased the scale of infestation.
3.
Pest Infestation Discouraging Farmers:
●
Farmers in some states, like Punjab, avoid
cotton cultivation.
4.
Ineffectiveness of Traditional Insecticides:
●
Conventional insecticides had limited efficacy
against PBW larvae, affecting lint quality and yield.
Significance
of Cotton:
●
Cotton, like coconut, is a source of all
the three Fs: Food, Feed and Fibre.
●
The white fluffy fibre or lint constitutes
only about 36% of kapas (the raw unginned cotton harvested by farmers).
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The rest is seed (62%) and wastes (2%)
separated from the lint during ginning.
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Cotton seed, in turn, contains 13% oil
used for cooking and frying. The 85% residual cake, after extraction of oil
from the seed and 2% processing losses, is a protein-rich feed ingredient for
livestock and poultry.
●
Cotton has a roughly two-thirds share in
India’s total textile fibre consumption. Not as well-known is cotton seed being
the country’s third largest domestically-produced vegetable oil (after mustard
and soyabean) and its second biggest feed cake/meal (after soyabean).
Top
Cotton Producing Countries:
Top
Cotton Exporting Countries:
Top
Cotton Producing States in India: