Summary CLVC affects cotton yields in Pakistan and caused the loss of an estimated 1.5 bales in 2012.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Pakistani and American agricultural scientists and experts are nowadays having deep deliberations to check Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV), a devastating cotton disease.
According to a careful assessment CLVC affects cotton yields in Pakistan and caused the loss of an estimated 1.5 million bales or 15 percent of this year’s total harvest. A high-level delegation of American cotton scientists visited Pakistan to review progress and plan new strategies with Pakistani counterparts to fight the CLCV.
The team visited labs in Lahore and Faisalabad and observed experimental disease-resistant cotton breeds grown in greenhouses provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The visit is part of a multi-year collaboration with Pakistani scientists to develop cotton seed resistant to CLCV. This cooperation between U.S. and Pakistani scientists on cotton is a prime example of the work the United States does to enhance the productivity of Pakistan’s agricultural sector, especially for small farmers.
Dr. Brian Scheffler, USDA’s Lead Scientist in the Cotton Productivity Enhancement Program (CPEP), was impressed with the progress that Pakistani counterparts at the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARC), the University of Punjab Institute Of Agricultural Sciences, the Central Cotton Institute in Multan and Sakarand, and others, had made.
