PUNJAB SCORES HAT RICK IN COTTON PRODUCTIVITY, PAU’s BATHINDA REGIONAL RESEARCH STATION LAUDED FOR STELLAR RESEARCH WORK
Dec30,2022 | MEENU GALHOTRA |Despite grave challenges posed by invasive pests, Punjab has scored a hat trick in cotton productivity by reporting the highest seed cotton yield for the three consecutive years during 2019-20 (651 kg/ha), 2020-21 (690 kg/ha) and 2021-22 (652 kg/ha). The name of Punjab Agricultural University’s Regional Research Station (RRS), Bathinda has become synonymous with cotton research in the state. Hailing the stellar research work and achievements of RRS, Bathinda, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, highlighted that the station has been instrumental in the development of 57 varieties till date, out of which, 17 were of American cotton and 5 were of Desi cotton varieties. Stating that the station hasn’t restricted itself to cotton research only, he disclosed that it has also expanded its inventory of research by developing varieties of wheat, barley, raya, toria, mungbean, round gourd, onion, lettuce, grapes, baramasi lemon, pomegranate, poplar and dek. “With the development of 43 production technologies and 36 plant protection technologies, it has earned a rare distinction in Punjab,” he added, while expressing satisfaction over the quantum of work carried out at the station. Sharing the details of annual seed/nursery production at RRS, Bathinda, Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of Research, informed that it has a well-established nursery that produces more than 2,000 quintals of quality seed of different rabi and kharif crops; more than 20,000 quality nursery plants of kinnow, guava, ber, etc.; about 10,000 saplings of poplar and other trees; and nearly 70,000 seedlings of various vegetables. In addition, more than 2,500 soil and water samples are tested annually, he informed. About the working of Food Processing Training-cum-Business Incubation Centre, Dr Dhatt told that it was established in 2015 in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, for conducting skill and entrepreneurship development training programs for producers, women self-help group members, unemployed rural youth, new and experienced entrepreneurs. It also offers food processing business incubation services to the stakeholders for pilot scale production of novel food products and market test, he added. Dilating upon the prioritized areas of future research, Dr Paramjit Singh, Director, RRS Bathinda, divulged that their focus is on the development of Bt cotton variety suitable for High Density Planting System (HDPS) and mechanical picking. Development of superior fiber quality hybrids of cotton combining high seed cotton, high Ginning Out Turn (GOT) and resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses is another area requiring attention, he said. Besides, the station will work on screening and management of different sucking pests, pink boll worm, bacterial and fungal diseases of cotton as well as screening of Bt cotton hybrids/varieties/germplasm against CLCuD under timely, late sown and HDPS conditions, he added. Causes of sudden wilting (parawilt), stunted growth and multi-nutrient deficiencies in cotton will also be identified and managed. Development of suitable conservation tillage practices for cotton cultivation is also in process, said Dr Singh. Notably, Bathinda has low rainfall (around 400 mm/year), saline-sodic underground water, sandy soils having low organic matter and poor water holding capacity, high temperature coupled with strong winds during summer, he observed. Tracing its history, Dr Singh revealed that the Fruit Research Station, established in 1972, was elevated to Regional Research Station in 1987. The All India Coordinated Research Project on Cotton was shifted to Bathinda in 2012. The Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for utilization of brackish water for fruit and vegetable production in South-Western Punjab started in 2012, he told. Institute of Agriculture for B.Sc. Agri. (Hons.) 6-year programme too was started in 2014 to cater to the students of the region. The station boasts a multi-disciplinary team of scientists working on crop improvement, water management, production and protection technologies of field crops, fruit plants, vegetable crops and agro-forestry trees, he said.
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