ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Farmers in Punjab would have to invest a minimum Rs8 billion to control mealybug, which has damaged 40 per cent of the province’s cotton yield, shows a research conducted by an Islamabad-based university.

The absence of fertiliser Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) has made the cotton crop vulnerable to mealybug attacks. At present, at least 8m acres of crop need to be cleared of the bug and each acre needs Rs1 thousand at least.

The FAST National University in collaboration with the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences has conducted the research study under the Agriculture Decision Support System (ADSS) project. The aim of the study is to present before the policymakers and researchers a data-driven critical analysis of the relationship between mealybug and important parameters such as variety, predators, pesticides and weather.

The study has cited reports, which fear that mealybug can destroy 5m bales this year if not controlled in time and that Pakistan is going to miss this year’s production target of 14.2 million bales.

“So far, mealybug has been reported to be mainly responsible for ruining an estimated 3.1m bale of cotton,” states the report.

It adds that the pest emergence has taken almost all concerned by surprise; the per acre pest control has reportedly gone up to Rs1,500 thus making the farmers the ultimate losers.

“The present yield-per-acre is very low. The country needs new and improved varieties that are high-yielding and resistant to or, at least tolerant to pests like CLCV (cotton leave curl virus) and mealybug,” the study states.

The researchers had collected data from the cotton fields in Multan, Shujaabad, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan.

The report says controlling mealybug chemically is difficult because most species spend much of their lives hidden under barks, on roots, or on some other sheltered parts of the plant. The timing of insecticide application is of extreme importance in order to coincide with periods of maximum vulnerability for mealybug incidence.

Pesticides can suppress mealybug incidence only to a specific level.

“In most of the cases pesticides become ineffective, as the body of the bug is covered with white wax powder, however, some techniques may help in providing good results,” the study says.

It adds that experiments with chemical pesticides indicate that Profenofos and Chorpyrifos at the rate of one litre per acre give satisfactory control for up to five days. Second application can suppress the bug’s incidence at a maximum level.

Citing the findings of Pakistan’s Central Cotton Research Institute (PCCRI), more than a hundred species of plants, other than cotton and vegetables, are under threat from mealybug.