Pakistan
September 27, 2011

During the meeting held between delegation of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and secretary of the Ministry of Textile Industry Shahid Rashid it was discussed that the Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) is destroying 4 million bales of cotton, worth Rs 100 billion every year in Pakistan.

The Cotton Productivity Enhancement Project, estimated at $4.2 million, is entirely funded by USDA and was launched last year to conduct research in different fields to increase cotton production in Pakistan.

The project is scheduled for completion in three years. An official of the Ministry revealed that 367 varieties of cotton have been imported under this project for the current season.

It is expected that CLCV would be controlled through this project, which would help increase cotton production in the country.

Delegation of USDA was satisfied with the research work and laboratories in Pakistan.

Dr Brian Scheffler, the lead research scientist of USDA said that project would focus on three areas i.e. germ plasma collection, capacity building, and use of biotechnology in solving the CLCV issues in Pakistan.

These are the major causes of low productivity of cotton in Pakistan,

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Published: September 27, 2011