Approximately 50 per cent of cotton in 5 cotton-growing districts of Kulab region in Khatlan province were struck by 3 types of pesticides, and it was not possible to safe the plants through chemical treatment of infested fields.
Habibullah Qulov, Deputy Head of Plant Protection for Kulab region of Khatlan province, told Asia-Plus that the main reason behind this is slowness and inefficiency of farmers.
According to him, farmers do not extinguish the problem as soon as it appears, and end up spending large sums, which they do not always have. Mr. Quliev said: “This is while already for the second year a bio-laboratory is functioning in Kulab region, which produces entomophagues, reducing treatment costs per hectar of land almost by 10 fold.” He also added that the price of spray chemical treatment with tractors is TJS 265, while through entomophogues (who eat pesticides), it costs TJS 30.
The same story goes for the potato and melon farmers in the region.
Mr. Qulov said that there are no problems today in purchasing chemicals, there are dozens of stores in each region, there is an agronomist in each
jamaat
, but everyone waits until it becomes a problem and then all of them blame it on the weather and other causes of decreased crop yields.
