Pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) management strategy, dissemination and impact assessment in India

Abstract

The recent emergence of pink bollworm (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) has posed serious ecological and economic implications for cotton production in India since 2017. The project “Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM): Dissemination of pink bollworm management strategies in Bt-cotton” was implemented consecutively for four years from 2018 -19, 2019–20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 in 21 districts across three cotton growing zones of the country. In each year, field demonstrations were conducted on 1050 acres of cotton area and mass awareness was created through outreach activities. With concerted and focused efforts, the PBW infestations could be brought down by 42.75% in 2018–19, 43.49% in 2019–20, 35.55% in 2020-21 and 33.77% in 2021-22 in the demonstration plots over the farmer practices. An increased benefit: cost ratios of 2.16:1, 2:1, 1.89:1 and 2.24:1 were realized during 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020-21 and 2021–22, respectively. Similarly, the average number of sprays for the control of cotton pests during the season was reduced to 5.02, 4.94, 5.19 and 5.18 in integrated pest management (IPM) fields as compared to 6.98, 7.66, 8.07 and 8.20 in non-integrated pest management (NIPM) fields in the corresponding years. Reduction in pesticide usage in IPM vs NIPM fields was 46.39% in terms of cost, and 38.96% in terms of volume during 2019-20 while concurrent percent reduction in pesticide usage was 41.03 & 39.33 during 2020-21 and 40.70 & 39.38 in 2021–22. Comparatively more seed cotton was harvested from IPM than NIPM fields i.e. 2190 vs 1820 kg/ha in 2018–19, 2049 vs 1715 kg/ha in 2019–20, 1881 vs 1585 kg/ha in 2020-21 and 1901 vs 1607 kg/ha in 2021–22. Significant success in reducing PBW infestation, pesticide usage and corresponding improvement in yield, economic benefits and environmental quality in terms of reduced EIQFUR has been achieved through IPM demonstrations. This area-wide success was achieved through collective efforts and active involvement of all concerned stakeholders.