Pest Attacks on Soybean and Cotton Crops Raise Farmer Concerns
By ashish wagh 2026-08-24 17:46:33
Pest attacks on soybean and cotton crops, along with cloudy weather, have heightened farmers' concerns.
Farmers in the district are worried due to an increasing pest infestation affecting soybean and cotton crops. Crop growth is also being hampered by persistent cloud cover and a lack of rainfall. Infestations of various pests have been observed in both major Kharif crops, which have now reached a critical stage of development.
During this Kharif season, various crops have been sown across an area of 4.18 lakh hectares in the district. This includes 1,19,626 hectares dedicated to soybean and 2,31,961 hectares to cotton. The district has recorded 446.4 mm of rainfall since June; while sowing was initially delayed due to a late start to the rains, farmers completed the process once the rainfall arrived.
Currently, the soybean crop has reached a height of 1 to 1.5 feet in most areas and is at the flowering stage. Mild infestations of leafhoppers, stem borers, and tobacco caterpillars have been observed on the crop.
Meanwhile, the cotton crop has grown to a height of 1.5 to 2 feet, with leaf and flower development underway in some areas. Mild infestations of aphids, leafhoppers, and whiteflies have been reported in the cotton crop.
District Agriculture Superintendent Arvind Uparikar has advised farmers to regularly monitor their crops and—should any pest infestation be detected—seek guidance from Agriculture Department experts to implement appropriate management measures.
