Impact of IRM Project on Pest Management & Production of Cotton in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Pink bollworm management in cotton often involves repeated insecticide applications that increase pest-management costs. The present study assessed the impact of the Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM) project implemented by KVK, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-1 during 2022-23 under the technical and financial guidance of ICAR-Central Institute of Cotton Research, Nagpur. The project disseminated integrated pest management practices, including mating disruption technology, to farmers in selected villages of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. IRM plots were compared with non-IRM plots for insecticide use, spray cost, cultivation cost, seed-cotton production, net profit, and benefit-cost ratio. The average number of insecticide sprays required for bollworm control was 1.4 in IRM plots and 3.2 in non-IRM plots. Adoption of the IRM package was associated with a 56.25% decrease in average spraying required for bollworms, a 34.70% decrease in the average cost of spraying, and a 15.86% decrease in the average cost of cultivation. Average production was 13.32 q/ha in IRM plots and 11.68 q/ha in non-IRM plots, while the average net profit was Rs.73,385/ha and Rs.61,798/ha, respectively. The benefit-cost ratio was 1.77 in IRM plots and 1.25 in non-IRM plots. These project-level findings indicate that the disseminated IRM practices were associated with reduced pest-management inputs and improved economic outcomes in the participating villages.