Cotton IPM and its Current Status

Cotton occupies 5% of the total cropped area distributed among three different agroclimatic zones in India, and consumes 55% pesticide share accounting for 40% of total production costs. This fact signifies the impact of insect pests and the increased agrochemical use in cotton production. Concern over human health and environmental consequences of agrochemicals besides pest resistance to pesticides has been a corner stone from the eighties. Despite the fact that IPM has been in practice for almost a decade and a half, except for realization of natural control operating in field, their conservation and augmentation, better cultural practices, use of resistant cultivars, established monitoring and scouting based economic threshold levels (ETLs) and alternate pest control techniques such as matting disruption through pheromones, use of botanicals and insect pathogens, there has been little reduction in pesticide use. This bulletin presents concisely the status of cotton insect pests, their management, potentialities, constraints and future needs of IPM to augment crop protection for an increased cotton production.Not AvailableNot Availabl