RECORDER REPORT

FAISALABAD: Punjab Agriculture Research Board and Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad on Saturday inked agreement to kick off projects worth Rs75 million on management of whitefly and pink boll worm that are inflicting loss of billions of rupees to the national economy.

The agreement was duly inked by UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Zafar and PARB Chief Executive Officer Dr Noor-ul-Islam Khan at the syndicate room. Whereas, Chairman Entomology and project manager Dr Jalal Arif, Pest Warning and Quality Assurance Director General Khalid Mehmood, UAF Director Research Dr Zahir A Zahir, Professor Dr Mansoor Sahi, Dr Dildar Gogi, and Dr Ahmad Nawaz attended the ceremony.

Under the PARB projects, UAF, Ayub Research, cotton Research Institute Multan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Agriculture University Multan, Nuclear Institute for Biology, Central Cotton Research Institute and NIBGE will work together to overcome the issue.

The project titled management of whitefly by integrated strategies and development of resistant cotton germ-plasma through genetic engineering will help the country to overcome the issue. They would work on development of whitefly management strategies based on natural enemies and integrated pest management strategies.

Under the project titled a comprehensive integrated scientific approach for the development of sustainable management strategies of pink bollworm, the scientists will assess the rearing of PBW, weather variables and relationship.

They hoped that the projects will help yield improvement, increase in export, decrease in import, improvement in input use efficiency and etc.

Dr Muhammad Iqbal Zafar said that modern practices must be promoted and practiced in the fields to fight the attack of different insect on the field. He viewed if PBW and whitefly were not overcome, it would only dent our agricultural production. He praised the measures of Punjab government for the uplift of the sector and to promote the modern techniques and practices.

Dr Noor-ul Islam said plant protection measures helped increase per hectare yield by protecting crops from diseases and controlling the pests. He said that it is need of the hour to adopt the modern trend and to fight the insect to meet the demand of the increasing population.

Khalid Mehmood said that we have to educate the farming community to tackle the situation that will jack up their income and reduce the poverty. He said that all the stakeholder have to play their role in the development of the country. HE said that Punjab government was making revolutionary steps for the uplift of the agricultural sector in term of subsidy, promotion of modern trend etc.