Unravelling the Bt bind: Desi cotton weaves a new future for Punjab farmers

Hindustan Times

5 days ago

After years of struggling with pest-infested Bt cotton and shrinking profits, a section of farmers in Punjab are turning back to a traditional crop with a modern promise — indigenous desi cotton — to overcome an economic crisis following dismal cotton seasons since 2021. A progressive cotton grower, Ravi Kant Geaidher, at his field in Nihal Khera village of Fazilka on Sunday. (HT photo)
Once sidelined by genetically modified varieties, desi cotton is now being revived with institutional support, scientific backing, and farmer-led trials. The state's agriculture department has begun actively promoting desi cotton this kharif season, marking a major shift in crop strategy aimed at restoring sustainability and profitability to Punjab's cotton belt.
Bt cotton, introduced in 2005 in Punjab, has dominated for nearly two decades. However, this kharif season, the state has begun promoting desi cotton in an organised manner for the first time in years.
Progressive farmers and agricultural experts say desi cotton is commercially viable, especially in the medical sector, and intercropping with vegetables can further support farmers financially until new pest-resistant hybrids are introduced following ongoing scientific trials.
Charanjeet Singh, deputy director (cotton) in the state agriculture department, said around 2,200 hectares are currently under recommended varieties of desi cotton this season, with plans to boost acreage further next year.
He explained that since 2021, Punjab has seen a decline in cotton sowing due to repeated pest attacks on Bt cotton and other factors. As a result, many farmers in the southeastern districts began shifting away from the traditional cash crop.
'Last year, we observed that some farmers were still sowing desi cotton in small patches. There was no focused attention on the varieties, but they continued cultivating it as a sustainable crop,' he said.
'Impressed by their confidence in desi cotton — thanks to low input costs and negligible pest attacks — we submitted a report to the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU),' Singh added.
Following the report, PAU vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal, who also heads the interstate consultative and monitoring committee for cotton promotion in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, endorsed the expansion of indigenous varieties, calling them economically sustainable.
PAU principal entomologist Vijay Kumar said the university has recommended three varieties for sowing — LD 949, LD 1019, and FDK 124.
'During field visits, indigenous cotton was spotted after several years,' Kumar said. 'A new variety, PBD 88, has completed the first phase of trials and is being sown in farmers' fields in semi-arid south Malwa. It is likely to be released next kharif season.'
Kumar added that these varieties show natural resistance to whitefly and the leaf curl virus, two major threats to cotton crops in the region.
Ravi Kant Geaidher, a progressive cotton grower from Nihal Khera village in Fazilka, said he has been sowing desi cotton on 2 to 6 acres of his family's 10-acre farm for almost two decades.
'When Bt cotton was profitable, many farmers switched to hybrids and abandoned local varieties,' said Geaidher. 'But desi cotton is highly suitable for intercropping. I earn an average of ₹35,000 per acre additionally by sowing vegetables like phoot kakri and banga, both from the cucumber family.'
Geaidher, who works closely with PAU on seed trials, said that desi cotton's resistance to pests and soil-enriching intercropping make it a strong alternative for regions with brackish groundwater, where other crops struggle to survive.
'The only drawback is that desi cotton bolls need to be harvested faster than Bt cotton,' he noted. 'But in the southwest region, increasing area under high-yield desi varieties could revive the traditional cotton economy,' he added.