Mansa: Vowing to take suppliers of spurious pesticides and seeds to task, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday urged farmers to use only the varieties recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to protect their cotton crops from white-fly.

Mansa: Vowing to take suppliers of spurious pesticides and seeds to task, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday urged farmers to use only the varieties recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to protect their cotton crops from white-fly.

Speaking to farmers during a visit to Mansa to take stock of the infestation caused by white-flies, the chief minister said those responsible for the supply of spurious insecticides would not be spared and strict action would be taken against them. If agriculture department officials are found guilty of any lapses, they too would also be punished, he added.

Captain Amarinder also announced that he would convene a meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways and means of tackling the situation in the case of inadequate rain, since dry and humid conditions breed white-fly. He told reporters during an informal interaction later that a comprehensive surveillance plan for constant monitoring of the situation would be finalised and implemented at Wednesday's meeting.

The chief minister also appealed to farmers not to resort to suicide, asserting that the loan waiver announced by his government was in the process of being implemented. He also reassured farmers of uninterrupted power supply for the four months of cultivation.

While urging farmers to buy only one of the 33 seed varieties and pesecticides recommended by PAU, the chief minister exhorted them not to buy cheap and unbranded seeds from Gujarat. The chief minister expressed concern over poor germination of seeds in some areas as a result of the use of poor quality seeds.

He asked the agriculture department to get the seeds being used by the farmers tested and ensure that genuine seeds were used in crop cultivation. He also directed the department to remain on alert against seeds coming from outside Punjab following reports that many of these varieties were also spurious.