Planting Instructions for Bollgard IIR & Bollworm Management

Bollgard IIR cotton hybrids produce two Bt proteins, Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab, which together manage the key lepidopteron pests of cotton viz., American bollworm, Spotted bollworm, Pink bollworm and the Tobacco caterpillar. As per the Gazette notification S.O.4215 (E) _dated December 27, 2016 by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's welfare, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmer's 

welfare, Government of India, the seeds in this packet are mixed with 5% Non-Bt refugia. This technology does not provide control of sucking insect pests of cotton. 

Refugia-in-Bag (RIB ) concept for insect resistance management : Blending 5% of non Bt seeds in Bt cotton seed pouch is called Refugia-in-Bag (RIB) concept. Non Bt hybrid possess similar duration and fiber properties as that of Bt hybrid. Minimal yield loss is expected due to mixing of non Bt seeds, however RIB helps in delay of insect developing resistance to Bt and enhances the durability of technology. 

The following general guidelines can help to get maximum benefits from Bollgard IIR cultivation 

Land Preparation : Remove and burn debris of previous crop for field sanitation. Give two deep summer ploughings to reduce soil borne diseases, insects and weeds. Prepare the field by repeated harrowing to bring the soil to suitable tilth. Manures and Fertilizers : Apply 5 to 6 tonnes farm yard manure 3 to 4 weeks before sowing. Fertilizers: Apply fertilizers as per the soil test report and local recommended practices.

Spacing: Spacing requirements should be adopted as per local recommended practices. 

Sowing method: Plant 2 seeds/hill for maintaining proper population. After germination, leave one vigorous plant per hill and remove the weak plant. 

Gap filling: To achieve optimum plant stand, if necessary go for gap filling within a week period. 

Inter-Cultivation and weed control: Follow need based hand weeding and inter cultivation practices to check the growth of the weeds. It helps in better soil aeration and soil moisture conservation. Follow recommended herbicide application, if it is in practice.

Irrigation Ensure moisture availability during the critical stages of crop growth i.e. germination, seedling growth, flowering, boll formation and development. 

Cotton is susceptible to water stagnation for long duration and therefore care should be taken to drain the excess water from the field.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) 

The following integrated practices are recommended: 

1. Follow summer ploughing and field sanitation as mentioned earlier. 

2. Seed treatment : BG || Cotton seeds are pre treated for controlling sucking pests. 

3. Sucking pest control: If the infestation of sucking pests crosses the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) at any stage of the crop 

growth, spray recommended insecticides for control.

Pest                                      Economic Threshold Level

Jassids                                1-2 nymphs or adults per leaf

Whiteflies                           8-10 nymphs or adults per leaf

Aphids                                 10% plants infested

Thrips                                   10 nymphs or adults/leaf

Mites                                     10 adults or 20 nymphs/leaf

4. Bollworm Control: ETL-based insecticide sprays 

Supplementary insecticide sprays* may be needed to manage bollworms if their population reaches or exceeds Economic threshold level (ETL). To know if bollworms have reached ETL, scout Bollgard II field every week by taking the following steps;

i)For American bollworm (ABW): Randomly select 20 Bollgard II plants/acre. ETL is reached if you find 2 or more ABW larvae/20 plants OR if you find 10% of the total bolls on these 20 plants damaged by ABW. 

ii)For pink bollworm (PBW): Select randomly 20 flowers or mature bolls per acre, and count the number of pink bollworm larvae in 20 flowers or 20 bolls. ETL is reached if you count 2 or more PBW larvae in 20 flowers or 20 bolls. ETL can also be estimated from pheromone trap observations (3 traps per acre). ETL is reached if you observe an average of 8 PBW moths per trap per night, for three successive nights

* follow insecticide recommendations of your local Agricultural University or Dept. of Agriculture

Note: For other non-target insects like Spodoptera, Stem Weevil etc. follow recommended practices. 

5. Other recommended IPM practices including trap / barrier crops, pheromone / light traps, bird perches, use of natural enemies, bio- 

rational insecticides (HaNPV, Neem) etc., can also be followed 

6. Avoid repeated use of same class of insecticides. 

7. Timely crop termination: Avoid rejuvenation (re-flushing ) of Bollgard II crop in areas with high PBW incidence. Extended duration 

of crop cultivation provides opportunity for PBW population build-up and the carry-over of the pest to next season. 

8. Field sanitation: Bollworm larvae, especially PBW, may remain hidden in dried or improperly opened bolls. Remove unopened 

bolls from cotton stalks or from the ground and bury in deep pits. 

9. Deep-ploughing: Carry-out deep ploughing after harvest to expose and kill pupae of all bollworms and diapausing larvae of PBW.

MANAGEMENT OF COMMON DISEASES IN COTTON: 

Follow need based recommended practices for the control of diseases such as Alternaria leaf spot, Grey mildew, Leaf blight and Boll rot. 

Among the various leaf diseases noticed following are the important & more commonly observed diseases in cotton crop. 

ALTERNARIA LEAF BLIGHT (Alternaria macrospora): Alternaria leaf blight first becomes visible as small, pale brown circular spots on the leaves. The spots slowly enlarge and develop concentric ridges to produce a target board appearance. CERCOSPORA LEAF SPOT (Cercospora gossypina): Cercospora leaf spot symptoms begin as reddish dots on the leaves. The lesions slowly increase in diameter retaining a narrow red margin enclosing a white to light brown center of dead tissue. 

GREY MILDEW (Ramularia areola): Grey leaf spot symptoms begin in the form of irregular angular yellowish green spots on the leaves. The lesion slowly turn yellowish to reddish brown and whitish frosty fungal growth appears chiefly on the under surface but occasionally also on the upper surface. 

BACTERIAL BLIGHT (Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum): the disease symptoms appear as angular spots on leaves, black vein or vein blight, black arm (blight on stems and branches) and boll blight. The lesions are water-soaked at first and then turn brown to black with age.

MANAGEMENT: 

i)Adequate nutrition and proper water management will protect the crop from predisposing to leaf diseases

ii) Encourage sufficient FYM application

iii)Agronomic measures of control will include wider spacing or paired row planting in order to reduce the humidity in the canopy

iv)Removal and destruction of infected leaves will minimize the leaf spot severity. 

v)Crop should be sprayed with copper oxychloride or Wettable sulfur 2-2.5g + Bavistin 1-1.5g/L., to control fungal leaf sports. Bacterial blight can be managed by spraying with copper oxychloride 2-2.5g + Streptocycline 0.1g/L. 

vi)Combined fungal and bacterial infections can be managed by spraying with copper oxychloride 2-2.5g + Bavistin 1-1.5g + Streptocycline 0.1g/L. 

vii)Spraying should be started from the first appearance of the disease symptoms and should be repeated 2-3 times at 15-20 day intervals.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR WILT IN COTTON : 

The disease is more severe in light to medium type of soils under water stress conditions. Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Rhizoctonia bataticola are the major biotic agents. In case of wilting symptoms due to water logging conditions, immediately drain out the field, and undertake drenching of systemic fungicides. The wilt can occur at any stage of development. The symptoms on older plants are prominent at flowering to boll setting stage. The affected plants look dull in appearance and the leaves light to yellow green in color followed by total drying of the plants. Partial discoloration of stem from the base upward; vascular discoloration, and the rotting of roots from tips may be seen at later stage of wilting.

Management:

1)Timely irrigation will protect the crop from predisposing to wilt, in case the crop is planted under light soils

2) Fields with history of wilt should be avoided for cotton cultivation.

3)Encourage sufficient FYM application. 

4)Crop should be sprayed with Nitrophoska-Foliar @3g/L. at vegetative growth stage and with Nitrophoska- Foliar@3g/L+Planofix@0.3ml/L at flowering

Control of adult plant infection:

i)Soil drench with Bavistin (Carbendazim) + Contaf (Hexaconazole) or Sheathmar (Validamycin) each @3g / L (0.5-1L/plant) at 50-60 days after planting. 

ii)Soil drenching should be done either before the initiation of wilting or immediately after the appearance of first wilt symptoms before the drying of leaves/plants, infected seedlings with brown or black discoloration of crown. 

Harvesting: The Bollgard II Cotton crop needs to be harvested as per the normal harvesting practices.

Disclaimer: The guidelines in this leaflet are gathered from various publications / sources. However soil type, adverse climatic condition and season, insufficient/inferior crop management and attack of pests and diseases may produce an adverse effect on crop and production. Crop management is beyond our control hence the farmers are fully responsible for production / yield. However we suggest them to get maximum yield by sowing the seed at the right time and through optimum crop management. Company shall not be liable for crop failure, despite following the guidelines. 

Stewardship Guidance: 

"The proper performance of Bollgard II® cotton technology is dependent on farmers following product usage guidelines recommended by the Cotton Crop Management guidelines issued by Central and/or State Agricultural Institutes. Any non-adherence to these product usage guidelines can lead to suboptimal performance of this insect tolerant technology. Situations of high bollworm incidence due to prevailing environmental conditions, including resistance in pink bollworm, if any, warrants adoption of recommended crop protection measures based on ETL (Economic Threshold Level) to mitigate the pest. The licensor of this technology shall not be liable for any performance issues arising due to farmers' failure to follow the recommended guidelines, nor shall it be liable for any germplasm related performance issues."