Pakistan : Agriculture Department Includes Banned Varieties In Cotton Plan

The Punjab Agriculture Department has included four cotton verities in the Cotton Plan for 2003-04, which are not recommended.

These varieties' seeds are not available in the market because of government policies and decision taken in the wide interest of farmers to reduce virus threats.

The Department is recommending such cotton varieties, which were neither short listed by the government nor the government encouraged such verities cultivation, said the sources.

The Department has also included such cotton varieties in the Cotton Plan the seeds of which are not available for the present crop season because the government recommended these varieties for next year from 2004-05.

The Punjab government in consultation with scientists short listed six varieties CIM-443, CIM-446, CIM-473, CIM-482, FH-900 and FH-901 for 2003-04 but the Punjab Agriculture Department has recommended 10 varieties including six short listed and four varieties which are not shot listed.

The seeds of CIM-499, FH-1000, NIAB-999 and Al-Semi H-151/A are not available in the market.