Cotton production on the rise in Haryana

Chandigarh, Apr 30 (UNI) The crop diversification policy adopted by the Haryana government has started yielding encouraging results.

An official spokesman said the area under cotton crop in the state was likely to increase from 4.83 lakh hectares during the last year to 5.25 lakh hectares this year.

BT cotton was also likely to be grown over an increased area this year as it had gained popularity among the farmers in the state, he added.

In Haryana, cotton was primarily grown in Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Jind and Bhiwani districts.

He said as many as 200 training camps would be organised in the villages to acquaint the farmers with the latest scientific techniques.

Scientists from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar and Central Cotton Research Institute, Sirsa would be available in these camps to provide technical knowhow to the farmers and answer their queries as to cultivation of this cash crop.

The spokesman said both desi and American cotton was grown in Haryana. However, with the hybrid varieties of cotton gaining popularity, area under these varieties was decreasing slowly in the state.

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