Central Cotton Research Institute

rdf:langString Central Cotton Research Institute

rdf:langString Central Cotton Research Institute Multan, ( مرکزی ادارہ برائے تحقیقات و علوم نخ ) established in 1970 in Multan, Pakistan, is one of the renowned research institutes of Pakistan. The institute has many divisions dedicated to different aspects of cotton research including Agronomy, Breeding and Genetics, Cytogenetics, Physiology, Fiber Technology, Statistics and Agricultural Engineering.Over the years, many achievements have been made in the development of high yielding varieties with standard fibre quality characteristics like staple length, fineness and strength etc. The fine tuning of production technology at the grass-root level of common farming community to the progressive farmers has made tremendous impact on enhancing cotton productivity. At the time of establishment of the Institute in 1970, the cotton productivity was 370 kg per hectare which has now risen to the level of 772 kg per hectare during the current year. The continuous and untiring research endeavors of the scientists have yielded 20 cotton varieties (17 Non-Bt and 03 Bt). The introduction of efficient water use technologies i.e. bed-furrow sowing technique, identification of water stress & heat tolerant cotton varieties and other water saving techniques were advocated to the farmers to economize cotton production. Salient features of five new varieties viz. CIM-612, Cyto-124, Bt.CIM-600, Bt.CIM-616 and Bt.Cyto-177 were presented in the 71st Meeting of the Expert Sub Committee held at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad on 09.03.2015. Apart from having up to the standard fibre quality traits, Bt.CIM-600 is tolerant to heat stress whereas Bt.CIM-616, CIM-612 and Bt.Cyto-177 are highly CLCuV tolerant with promising yield potential. The Institute has made tremendous efforts in popularizing the technology for herbicide use in weed management. The continuous research on screening of weedicides and fine tuning of their application techniques (pre- and post-emergence) is another milestone of this Institute. The quantification of optimized fertilizer levels, application methodologies for efficient utilization and exploring the alternate nutrient sources remained as a continuous endeavor to achieve yield sustainability. The technique of plant mapping, disseminated from this Institute, for forecasting/ estimating yield potential is being practiced by the various research, academia and government departments. In the field of plant protection, the invasion of secondary pests like mealybug, dusky cotton bug and red cotton bug are becoming potential threats to achieve yield targets. A due attention is being made to devise pest management strategies to tackle these emerging pests. In the scenario of extended Bt cotton cultivation, the research has been diverted towards this new dimension for controlling sucking pests and studies on resistance management accrued due to inbuilt bollworm resistance in cotton plant. The country has suffered huge financial losses due to yield reduction in cotton crop caused by the wide scale infestation of cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) disease. Accepting this hard challenge, the scientists at the Institute were able to evolve varieties through introgression that have a high degree of tolerance to CLCuV. A variety Cyto-124, which is recently recommended by Expert Sub Committee, has shown its stability towards virus tolerance in early as well as late sowing (March to June planting). A couple of more promising genotypes (Cyto-120 & Cyto-122) are in pipeline. The contribution in the development of disease resistance is the outcome of continuous involvement by the Pathology Section for quantification and transformation of resistant character and its build up in the new genetic material. The development of new varieties is based on the maintenance of high fibre quality traits to cope with the standards of the textile industry. The varieties released by the Institute are stable and maintain their fibre quality under various ecological zones. The Institute is at advanced level in developing transgenic cotton through classical breeding along with biotechnological tools. Results of the data gathered from the experiments and surveys cannot be deduced or inferred without the statistical analysis. The mass scale statistical analysis of data has made success to bring out this 44th Progress Report of the Institute. The results are not confined in the four-walls of the Institute. Message dissemination measures through print and electronic media, personal communication, training of farmers, field staff of seed, fertilizer and NGOs remained a regular phenomena throughout the year. Various programs are televised through TV channels based at Multan.