Constraints in Cotton Pest Management

A survey was carried out in Guntur and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh to identify the constraints in pest management in cotton. Farmers resorted to pesticide sprays 10 -18 times during the crop season. A large number of farmers used 2 - 3 insecticides in combination. Low spray fluid application rates, improper application equipment, fetching adequate amounts of water for high volume sprayers, high cost of low volume sprayers, and difficulty in getting full coverage are the major problems faced by farmers. Steps are needed to educate farmers for need based application of pesticides and use of proper application equipment.