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Abstract
This study has been undertaken to make cotton production in the state of
Punjab globally competitive by reducing the cost of production at farmer’s
level through adoption of new pest management technologies, namely
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Insecticides Resistant
Management (IRM). A sample of ten experimental and ten control plots
has been taken for each technology in four villages of the cotton belt of
Punjab. The study has revealed that the adopters of IPM and IRM
technology could get significantly higher yield as compared to that by
non-adopters. These technologies have been found cost-effective due to
higher production and could reduce the per quintal production cost by
Rs 253 and Rs 175, respectively. These technologies have been found to
generate more income and employment as the adopters could earn
Rs 6840/ha and Rs 5901/ha more income as compared to that by the nonadopters.
The gain in human employment due to adoption of these
technologies has been of 11 humandays/ha and 12 humandays/ha,
respectively. The IPM and IRM technologies have reduced the pesticides
consumption by 67 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively. The cost-benefit
analysis has shown these technologies to be economically viable. The
study has suggested that these technologies should be propagated among
the farmers in the cotton belt of Punjab. These technologies will reduce
the chemicals-consumption and enhance the productivity of cotton on
sustainable basis with lower cost of production, which in turn would
protect the environmental health and economic condition of the debtridden
cotton growers on a long-term basis.