ICAC 66th
Plenary Meeting since 1939 was held in Izmir, Turkey during
October 22-26, 2007. More than 500 people participated in the
meeting, including representatives from 44 countries and 9
international organizations. Many interesting cotton related
issues were discussed during the meeting and scientists from
different cotton growing and consuming countries shared their
knowledge on various subjects including cotton production,
cotton classification and standardization, cotton trade, etc.
A summary
of different issues and subjects discussed during the meeting is
presented below:
A New Record in Cotton Demand:
ICAC estimates that
world cotton mill use is increasing for the ninth consecutive
season to a record of 27 million tons. World cotton consumption
is estimated to be above production this season, while world
production is estimated lower than last season at 26 million
tons. Cotton prices are expected to be higher than in recent
seasons.
Urgent Completion of Doha Round:
Member Governments
reaffirmed that subsidies, tariffs and quotas that distort
production and trade, reduce cotton prices and lead to negative
impacts on cotton farmers and the economies of developing and
least developed countries.
Strategies for National Competitiveness:
The Committee
recognized that competitiveness is market driven. The
development of human resources, improvements in quality
throughout the value chain from fiber to apparel, strong
research and development efforts and creative marketing
strategies are required for competitiveness.
Cotton competitiveness
with synthetic fibers was considered to be an important
aspect of “Strategies for National Competitiveness”. It was also
noted that demand enhancement efforts can be an important
component of such strategies.
Cotton Serves as a Sustainable Engine of Economic Development:
The
Panel on Social, Environmental and Economic Performance of
Cotton Production (SEEP) reported the above issue and it was
agreed by all participants
Industry Standardization Promotes Competitiveness:
It was
reported that initiatives toward standardization of instrument
testing and the use of standardized trade rules in cotton were
moving forward, and that these initiatives are helping the
cotton industry lower costs and improve quality in competition
with synthetic fibers.
Excess moisture in cotton bales
believed to be a growing problem from several origins, and this
problem was emphasized to be taken seriously and needs to be
studied and solved.
Vision for Technology in 2025:
The participating scientists believe that cotton production
practices will change drastically in the next two decades.
Climate change through global warming may increase
photosynthesis, leading to increased vegetative growth in cotton
but not necessarily resulting in greater production of lint.
Development of varieties with higher host plant tolerance and
the development of short duration varieties
to save labor and inputs were agreed strongly. The importance of
good agricultural practices (GAP) particularly application of
integrated pest management (IPM) strategies in cotton fields was
noted and repeatedly emphasized.
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Reflection
of INCANA Activities in ICAC Meeting
INCANA and its
activities were well introduced and described in ICAC meeting by
Dr. Heydari who was invited to participate in the meeting
as INCANA representative. During the meeting, Dr. Heydari tried
to introduce the INCANA to the participants by distributing the
mini posters of INCANA provided by secretariat office. He also
explained the activities of INCANA during different discussion
sessions of the meeting. One issue that seemed to be the most interesting to
the participants was the IPM workshop held in Syria in 2006 by
INCANA. After Dr. Heydari talked about the outcomes of IPM
workshop and explained the Syrian success and achievements in
implementation of IPM strategies that have resulted in second
highest yield in the world with almost no application of
chemical pesticides, many scientists were impressed and wanted
to hear more about this success story. ICAC officials also
showed their interests in this issue and basically agreed with
holding an international IPM workshop by collaboration of INCANA.
In this regard, Dr. Heydari suggested ICAC policy makers to form
an expert panel on IPM which was agreed and it will be discussed
in future ICAC meetings.
3rd Steering
Committee Meeting of INCANA
19-20 June, 2007
Damascus, Syria
The third Steering Committee Meeting
of INCANA was held in Damascus during 19th -20th June, 2007. The
meeting was organized by General Commission for Scientific
Agricultural Research (GCSAR) and INCANA Secretariat with the
support of AARINENA (Association of Agricultural Research
Institutes for North East and North Africa), APAARI
(Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes)
and ICARDA-CAC regional office. Totally 12 participants attended
the meeting including representatives from Egypt, India, Iran,
Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Dr. Hamdan, Executive Secretary of
AARINENA welcomed the participants and expressed his
appreciation to the Government of Syria and Dr. Majd Jamal and
INCANA Secretariat for organizing this meeting. He mentioned
the importance of exchange of knowledge and information among
the stakeholders of agricultural research in the region and the
role of INCANA for achieving this goal. He also requested the
participants for strengthening the network through formulating
technical working groups in order to:
1-
Optimize the limited resources available and to streamline and
focus on the problems in each of the areas identified as
priority areas;
2-
Prepare work plans and assign responsibilities to the members of
each working group and to the Secretariat;
3-
Enhance and coordinate technical collaboration among relevant
member institutions;
4-
To
provide INCANA webpage and Newsletter with information for
dissemination among member countries
After country report presentations
and discussions on different issues the participants agreed on
the establishment and formation of following working groups with
the coordination of leading INCANA member countries:
1-
Biotechnology application including development of transgenic
cotton for biotic and abiotic stresses ( India)
2-
IPM on
cotton (Syria)
3-
Mechanization of cotton cultivation (Uzbekistan)
4-
Soil
and water management (Pakistan)
5- Seed
technology and marketing (Egypt)
The following issues were also
discussed and agreed for the future activities of (INCANA)
1- Budgeting for the Network and Secretariat will be continued as
before by APAARI, AARINENA, GFAR, ICARDA, CACAARI and FAO
regional office in Ankara (Dr. Fawzi). The Secretariat will
provide records of expenditure.
2- Some
financial would be supported by FAO regional office in Ankara
for organizing advanced training workshop on IPM in one Central
Asian countries.
3- Future activities of the Network:
4- Submission of 4 pre-proposals from working groups (2-3 pages)
including capacity building and training for finding donors.
5- Organizing at least 2 workshops or training courses on following
topics:
6-
Newsletter will be published biannually and members should help
the Secretariat on content and should also help in updating
website and database of INCANA.
7-
It was
decided the 4th steering committee to be hold in
Egypt based on the approval of the Egyptian Government which
will be intimated by Dr. Monir Gad, Director of Cotton Research
Institute .
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Workshop on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) on Cotton
Aleppo, Syria
(Aug. 16-21-2006)
INCANA Secretariat with the collaboration of General Commission
for Agricultural Research of Syria and support of APAARI,
AARINENA, GFAR and ICARDA organized an inter-regional
workshop on cotton IPM in Aleppo from Aug 16-21, 2006. The
following is a brief report of the workshop.
Participants:
Cotton IPM specialists from 8 INCANA
member countries including Syria, Iran, India, Pakistan, Egypt,
Sudan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the workshop.
The workshop consisted of the
following sessions:
Presentation session:
In this session, all participants presented their reports on
cotton IPM in their respective countries and shred their
knowledge with each others.
Roundtable discussion:
After presentation, participants attended a round table
discussion and discussed various cotton IPM related issues in
different countries.
Scientific visits:
Several visits to scientific centers were organized by Syrian
colleagues for the participants. During this session,
participants visited ICARDA headquarter, Aleppo University and
Biological control laboratories in different parts of Syria.
Field visits:
About 10 cotton fields in different provinces of Syria were
visited by participants where they were given practical
information on cotton IPM in Syria.
Final recommendations:
The following issues were agreed by the participants as the
final statement and recommendation of the IPM workshop:
-
The workshop was highly successful and all participants
expressed their satisfaction
-
Syrian colleagues did an excellent job in organizing and
holding the workshop
-
Syrian
scientists have made very significant progresses in cotton
IPM. They have used all available strategies to overcome
pest problems in their cotton fields.
-
INCANA
member countries should use Syria success in IPM program to
overcome their cotton pest problems
-
The
use of biological (natural enemies against insect pests and
microbial antagonists against diseases) and cultural and
agronomic practices such as land preparation, sowing date,
good fertilization and proper irrigation, should be
considered the most important components of cotton IPM
programs.
-
Farmers Field Schools (FFS) should be considered an
important part of IPM programs because it allows the farmers
to get involved in IPM programs and implement the IPM
strategies by their own.
-
The
use of natural and plant products such as Neem extracts
should be taken to the account. These products have been
successfully used in some countries and have produced very
promising results.
-
Biological control technology transfer among INCANA
countries should be encouraged.
-
The
use of transgenic cotton such as Bt with consideration of
environmental safety should be taken to the account
-
Pesticides should be used and applied only when
environmentally and economically are justified
-
Organizing and holding further workshops and meetings on
cotton should be continued in the future
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Traveling Workshop on Hybrid and Bt Cotton
India, 21- 26
Nov. 2005
With the approval of ICAR, New Delhi, a
Traveling workshop on Hybrid and Bt Cotton was held for
participants of four Countries during 21 - 26 November
2005. The participants included:
-
Dr Ali Jafari,
Head, Cotton Research Institute, Mofidabad, Iran
-
Dr Hakimjon
Saydaliev, Head of Cotton Germplasm Deptt., Uzbek Cotton
Breeding Institute, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
-
Dr M. Amir Helali,
Administration of Cotton Research, General Commission for
Scientific Agricultural Research, Aleppo, Syria
-
Dr Bayramgeldi
Gurtgeldiyev, Principal Cotton Specialist, Ministry of
Agiculture, Turkmenistan
The following activities were arranged and conducted for
participants during this workshop:
-
Visit to Natinal Agricultural Science
Museum – The Saga of Indian Agriculture
-
Visit to NCIPM, New
Delhi
-
Visit to CICR Regional Station, Sirsa
-
Visit to CICR Experimental fields
-
Visit
to CICR and CIRCOT Laboratories
-
Visit to farmers’
Bt cotton fields in two villages of Sirsa
District
-
Visit to IPM and IRM villages adopted by CICR Regional Research
Station, Coimbatore
-
Visit to CICR Regional Research Station, Coimbatore
-
Visit to Experimental Fields sorghum on cotton yields also
generated interest
-
Visit to Research
Facility of Mahyco Life Sciences Research
Centre
-
Visit to Bollgard II Bt hybrid fields at village Sillod
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A Technical Review:
"Stickiness in Cotton"
What is Stickiness?
To growers,
stickiness means higher costs for insect control and reduced
cotton marketability. To ginners, stickiness may mean
special handling and processing requirements. At the textile
mill, stickiness means reduced processing efficiency, lower
yarn quality, and in severe cases total shut down. For
everyone concerned, stickiness means reduced profitability.
Stickiness occurs when excessive sugars present on fibers
are transferred to equipment and interfere with processing.
Sugars may be insect- or plant-derived.
Honeydew, when
present in sufficient quantity, is the main source of sugars
that can result in sticky lint. Honeydew is excreted by
certain phloem-feeding insects including aphids and
whiteflies. These insects are capable of transforming
ingested sucrose into over twenty different sugars in their
excreted honeydew. The major sugars in cotton insect
honeydew are trehalulose, melezitose, sucrose, fructose and
glucose. Another source of stickiness is free plant sugars
sometimes found in immature fibers. Cotton fiber is largely
cellulose that is formed from sugars synthesized by the
plant. Dry, mature cotton fibers contain little free sugar,
while immature cotton fibers contain glucose, fructose,
sucrose, and other sugars. If immature cotton fiber is
subjected to a freeze, complex sugars may be broken down to
release additional simple sugars. Less commonly, oils
released by crushed seed coat fragments can also result in
stickiness. In this case, raffinose is the characteristic
sugar. Sugars differ in their stickiness. For example,
sucrose, melezitose, and trehalulose are all significantly
stickier when deposited on fiber than are glucose or
fructose. Further, trehalulose-contaminated fiber is
stickier than fiber with an equivalent amount of melezitose.
Mixtures of sugars, such as occur in honeydew, tend to be
stickier than single sugars. Localized concentration of
sugars like honeydew is at higher risk of causing stickiness
than more evenly distributed sources like plant sugars.
A
summary of approach for preventing stickness in cotton
Even with the importance of producing high quality,
non-sticky cotton, it is important to follow basic tenets of
Integrated Pest Management:
1. Visit and sample fields regularly.
2. Treat only when the population exceeds the economic
threshold.
3. Be realistic about yield potential and strive for the
shortest season possible. Delaying harvest makes fields
available for aphid and whitefly migration late season.
4. Manage the crop to a successful termination. Take care
with late irrigations; avoid situations that lead to
regrowth before and after defoliation.
5. Use defoliants appropriate to your situation to minimize
the length of time that lint is exposed to green leaves. If
required, treat the fields to reduce adult whitefly and/or
aphid populations.
6. Practice good insecticide resistance by rotating
compounds with differing modes of action.
7. Visit the field between defoliation and harvest to ensure
that aphid and whitefly are not present in damaging numbers.
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New Cotton Varieties
released in Iran
1- Sephid as a short duration
(120-130 days), high yield, medium staple cotton variety has
been jointly released in 2007 by CRI (Cotton Research
Institute
of Iran) and General Office for Cotton and Oil
Crops of Islamic Republic Of Iran. Sephid is an okra leaf
type cotton which has been released through introduction
breeding method with various trials after ten years. Sephid
as an early mature cotton variety was introduced mainly for
double cropping system in northern cotton zone. the
achievement has been resulted in wheat grain yield
increments by planting wheat right after cotton harvesting.
Economic characteristics:
Ginning turnout (%):
41.16
Staple Length (mm): 29.8
Micronaire (µg
inch-1): 4.6
Fiber Strength (tppsi): 84.4
Yield Potential: 4850 kg/h
2- F1 Hybrid cotton seed: Hybrid
cotton is an optimistic approach for significant improvement
in genetic potential for yield and fiber quality. Therefore,
Hyb86SS and Hyb86SB as two new G. hirsutum
intraspecific commercial hybrid seeds were
introduced to the farmers in Northern Iran.
2-1- Economic characteristics of
Hyb86SS:
-
Ginning turnout (%):
41.92
-
Staple Length (mm): 31.3
-
Micronaire (µg
inch-1): 4.3
-
Fiber Strength (tppsi): 89.2
-
Yield Potential: 4175 kg/h
2-2- Economic characteristics of
Hyb86SB:
-
Ginning turnout (%):
40.84
-
Staple Length (mm): 32.1
-
Micronaire (µg
inch-1): 4.3
-
Fiber Strength (tppsi): 88.9
-
Yield Potential: 4450 kg/h
