ADILABAD: A large number of farmers have started sowing cotton seeds after letting out a sigh of relief with the arrival of the rains for which they had been waiting the last 15 days.
Farmers are busy in agriculture operations as the weather improved after a long time.
Many farmers who sowed cotton seeds had tense moments waiting for the monsoon which has been inordinately delayed this year. Rains is needed for the germination of cotton seeds. The farmers needed moisture in the soil to prevent the seeds from drying up.
And now, the problem of fake cotton seeds is haunting the farmers. In many places, police seized packets of fake seeds worth lakhs of rupees. These fake seeds are penetrating into the villages of bordering mandals of old Adilabad district from bordering Maharashtra.
Agents selling fake cotton seeds are targeting the gullible and poor tribals and making huge profits. Police have formed special teams and are conducting raids on godowns and shops. Farmers refer to the fake cotton seed as ‘Chore BT’.
Some agents have come from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat and are selling the fake cotton seeds projecting them as the latest BT technology under the tag of BT cotton- 3 which can sustain despite any kind of pest attack including bollworm. Agriculture officials have appealed to farmers not to fall into the trap of agents and traders. Police and agriculture officials clarified that there was no BT cotton-3 technology as such and there was no permission from the government of India for such technology so far.
