Cotton's worm threatens crop, farmers need help

AHMAD AL-KAMIAN – MAED SALOUM / GIRÊ SPÎ
 
According to farmers, this season is the worst year in years for cotton crop farmers in Girê Spî canton, because of the damage of the crop caused by an insect pest that could damage the crop completely if the necessary measures are not taken.
The damage rate of the crop for nearly 50% is likely to rise, and need to combat this insect to spray it with pesticides in several stages, every 15 days once to be completely eliminated.

"The cost of irrigation and the extension of networks on al-Baleikh River and other expenses have weighed heavily on us, and now we do not have the capacity to pay more. The damage of our current season could be a financial crisis for us as farmers," said Ibrahim al-Hamoud and Khalaf al-Ahmad.

The farmers appealed to the responsible authorities and the Agriculture Body of Girê Spî canton to provide them with urgent support and contribute to find a solution to this problem.

The cotton season is grown at the beginning of the second half of April and needs regular care and work until four months to harvest the crop. It is considered one of the most important agricultural seasons for the area's farmers in parallel to the wheat crop.

What is cotton's worm and what causes its spread?

 According to one of the agricultural engineers, it is scientifically called "almonds' worm" and the only reason for the spread is the weather factors, the most important lack of frosts during winter, or high temperature during summer because it helps to eliminate or reduce the spread.

According to experts, the life cycle of this worm lasts 15 days, during which it put from 2000 to 3500 eggs

The administrator of the Agriculture Committee in Ain Issa district, Ahmed Hasan, said that the basis of the spread of cotton's worm is the absence of local seeds to eliminate this worm.

He stressed that the cause of the current crisis of the lack of seeds required "due to the destruction of all mechanisms by terrorist gangs that have followed the occupation of the area during the past years, and there are no local varieties of insecticides to eliminate this worm.

Hassan says that as an Agriculture Committee they can only offer something now if they have local varieties of pesticides that are eliminate the worm, but these good quality varieties are currently unavailable because of the destruction of Syrian research centers and the lack of access to these pesticides. "

H/S

ANHA