Cotton area seen down 10% in Maharashtra on pest woes, up in Telangana.

While the textile industry and trade bodies continue assessing the impact of a pink bollworm attack on cotton plantations in affected states, the farm department of Maharashtra, the biggest victim of the pest attack, expects a 10% hit on acreage in the state this kharif season. Farmers might opt for soybean by reducing the area under cotton by about 10%. The official said the area under the crop may drop to 3.6-3.7 mln ha in the kharif season, compared with over 4.1 mln ha in the previous season. The estimated acreage is in line with the average for the past five-six years, and last year’s acreage was exceptionally high.