Biotech Updates

Pakistan Off By 1 M Bales in Cotton Yield Projection

October 24, 2008

Pakistan Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL), Nazar Muhammad Gondal,  said the country would be able to achieve 13 million cotton bales this crop season. This is up by 1.7 M bales compared to the previous season's harvest but  way below the government projection of 14.11 M.  Lack of water,  poor quality seeds, and inadequate supply of inputs affected the projected yield output.

A survey by the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Sindh and Punjab noted that almost 80 percent of the cotton growing area in Sindh was planted to unapproved Bt cotton with high incidence (60 to 100 percent) of Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) infection.

View the full article at http://www.pabic.com.pk/23%20oct.html http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\23\story_23-10-2008_pg5_5