Pest Management Practices of Cotton Growers in Guntur District: An Explorative Study

This paper discloses the fact that heavy and unscientific dosages of chemical pesticides and application practices seriously affect the ecological and environmental balance. Thus, this paper attempts to highlight some important issues associated with cotton cropping in Guntur district like land preparation, seed treatment, intercropping, crop rotation and avoidance of contiguous cotton fields. This study also analyses the pest management practices at different stages of crop growth and points out certain interesting findings about the cotton growers. Firstly, they are not fully aware of the importance of pre-sowing pest management practices. Secondly, the cotton farmers are not accustomed to using the labeled seeds. Thirdly, the farmers are not fully familiar with the use of different control methods, though most of them are in a position to correctly identify the various pests, insects and diseases attacking the crop. This can be attributed to the excessive dependence of the farmers on the dealers, company agents and their fellow farmers for identification as well as adoption of control measures without resorting to the agricultural extension personnel adopting the chemical method. This study concludes that there is a need to educate the farmers about the pest management practices through training and timely demonstration.