MULTAN, Aug 17: Mealybug, an insect appeared for the first time on cotton crop in the farms of Pakistan Cotton Research Institute some two years ago, has become a highly pesticide-resistant insect nowadays.

Entomologists, cotton growers and agricultural analysts are describing the insect as the most dangerous for the cotton crop and have warned that it could create a major problem for the cotton growers within two to three years.

Mealybug with piercing and sucking mouthparts is not a strange insect in Pakistan. It is armoured with a hard, wax-like coating that gives them lots of protection against all kind of sprays. They suck the fluids from leaves and stems, robbing plants of essential nutrients.

Mealybugs feed on all parts of the plant, but especially on tender new growth. Leaves and fruits on crop plants may drop prematurely.

There are more than hundred host plants for Mealybugs in Pakistan and mango, guava and curtis are also few host plants for the insect.

From centuries cotton is being cultivated in Sindh valley but Mealybugs always remained away from the crop.

Khawja Muhammad Shoaib of Farmers Vision Forum said that the insect posed no threat up to 2005 but in 2006 Mealybug attacked plants in a wide area of cotton fields and started damaging the crop. Farmers sprayed different types of insecticides because there was no Mealybugs control pesticide available in the market.

He said that the federal government had announced a project of Rs500 million to control the Mealybugs and save cotton crops. The government of Punjab has also started a joint spray campaign in collaboration with pesticide companies.

Khawaja Shoaib said that as compared to the last year the insect’s attack was a bit earlier this time not only due to the pre-monsoon rains but also due to its resistance power. Farmers have taken the insect seriously this time the agriculture departments and pesticide companies were also briefing farmers about the insect but they have not even a single specific Mealybug to control the attack.

He said that as there was no specific pesticide for the insect, pesticide companies had started sale all kinds of pesticides. This created shortage of pesticides due to their excessive use in the early season. Cotton sprays have been started very early while spray timings in Pakistan is from August 1 to October 15.

He said that another major reason for the shortage of pesticides was a single product promotion campaign launched by the ministry for food, agriculture and livestock. The government imposed ten per cent regulatory duty on import of widely used pesticide Emamectin Benzoate.

Earlier, only two companies were allowed to import the said pesticide in the country and the price of one litre Emamectin Benzoate was about Rs3,200 but in February 2005 the ministry decided to bring 34 branded pesticides on the generic list after expiry of their patent rights and Emamectin Benzoate was one of them.

Consequently, the price of Emamectin Benzoate declined and it was available in the market at around Rs500 per litre.

According to sources a pesticide company has approached the prime minister and showed its interest to set up an Emamectin manufacturing plant in the country and requested favour in this regard and in return the government imposed five per cent duty on import of Emamectin.

After a strong protest by the cotton growers the federal government withdrew the duty in its budget 2007-08 but it was re-imposed under section No 3808.9191 of PCT code and this time the percentage of duty imposed was ten per cent instead of five per cent earlier.

According to government sources the duty was imposed to encourage the manufacturing of pesticide in the country but farmers have declared the import duty unjustified before its manufacturing and supply start.

He said due to the so-called manufacturing of the pesticide and imposition of 10 per cent duty on the import other pesticide companies did not import the pesticide creating shortage of pesticides at the start of spray season.

Pesticide importers and formulators observed a countrywide token strike on Wednesday against what they said improper use of Section 21-A of the pesticide ordinance of 1971 by the government institutes. Pesticides dealers also observed a shutter down strike in Punjab against filing of criminal cases against dealers under the said section.

Aamir Aziz Malik, member of the Pakistan Crop Protection Association said that government should stop interference of inspectors in pesticide business and bound them to only take samples of pesticides from warehouses and restrict their entrance to plants without representatives of the pesticide association.

He demanded that before filing a First Information Report against any pesticide dealer the nature of offence be determined by a technical committee.