May 9, 2002	Thursday	Safar 25, 1423

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MULTAN, May 8: Scarcity of water is a serious threat to the cotton crop as regard to its acreage and per acre yield.

This was stated by provincial agriculture minister Syed Khursheed Zaman Qureshi while talking to newsmen here on Wednesday after a meeting of the Cotton Crop Management Group.

He said the agriculture department was trying to promote judicious use of available water resources through better agronomic practices and sowing of heat-tolerant varieties which consumed less water.

He said though furrow-bed sowing reduced the consumption of water in cotton, it could not be recommended in areas which were dependent on canal irrigation due to saline sub-soil water. He hoped the government would give one-third subsidy in electricity tariff for the use of farm tubewells.

The minister said the agriculture department was launching pilot projects to control pest infestation in cotton fields through modern techniques. Khanewal, Vehari and Lodhran districts had been selected to launch the project for the effective control of pink bollworm.

The government was also focusing to create awareness among growers about preventive measures to check American bollworm proliferation, he said.

On the issue of cold response by the Aptma and the TCP to the procurement of contamination-free cotton in Rahim Yar Khan district by not giving due premium, he said the production of contamination-free cotton would ultimately prove beneficial for the growers in the wake of its attracting foreign buyers.

He admitted that the presence of huge unsold stocks of lint cotton might discourage the farming community while sowing for the next crop, but he expressed full confidence that the TCP would procure the remaining cotton.

Answering a question regarding permission to the Multan Cotton Association to announce daily spot rates along with the Karachi Cotton Association, the minister said neither the federal nor provincial government could stop MCA from doing so if the business community reached a consensus on the matter.

The minister also presided over meetings on mango production and MCA. KCA representative Khwaja Zubair reportedly opposed the MCA demand to announce daily spot rates.