Pakistan Experts From Four Major Cotton Producing Countries Hope To Use BT Cotton To Increase Production

Pakistan has increased cotton production by adopting Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), a pest resistant transgenic plant, which contains genes that make plants resistant to Helicoverpa armigera.

Pakistan is still the fourth largest cotton producer, but its cotton production has declined in the past few years due to the impact of climate change and pressure from different organisms.

An expert from Arid Agricultural University told wellhpk: "Pakistan should use BT cotton to increase production and reduce crop losses. The biggest advantage of Bt cotton is that it is resistant to pests and has a deterrent effect on harmful pests such as cotton bollworm."

"Bt cotton is one of the highly genetically modified cotton varieties produced through biotechnology, which increases cotton production around the world," the agricultural expert, who declined to be named, said

"Cotton is Pakistan's cash crop, which makes a significant contribution to the country's economy. Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer after China, the United States and India," he said

"The cotton crop faces many challenges because it competes with other crops, especially sugarcane, and its acreage and yield are decreasing over time," the expert said

The area of cotton planted in the year of 2020 will be 21.21% less than that of the year before 2020. The cotton output in 2020 / 21 will be 7.064 million bales, 22.8% lower than that of 9.148 million bales in the previous year.

He said drought and frequent insect pests caused by climate change have led to a decline in cotton production.