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MULTAN, Jul 14 (APP):Agriculture Department South Punjab launched an online Google Workbook named “Virtual Cotton Pest Management Hub” with an aim to monitor cotton pest data in real-time, enhance pest scouting as well as some other relevant management.
The initiative was under leadership of Secretary Agriculture South Punjab Saqib Ateel.
The Google Workbook is structured into three separate sheets, and every sheet named according to the type of data from the Extension Department, Pest Warning, and Monitoring Team, and each sheet is color-coded for easy identification, said official sources. Only authorized personnel will be allowed to enter data into these sheets.
Secretary Saqib Ali Ateel maintained, the primary goal of creating this Google Sheet is to enable real-time monitoring of cotton data. This system allows independent monitors to counter-check accurate data regarding cotton pests and nutrition. The recorded data on nutrition and pest scouting, along with other field activities, will be continuously monitored, he added.
Agriculture Department assigned 11 entomologists across various sectors in South Punjab to monitor cotton pests and counter-check the data recorded by the Pest Warning and Extension Department. Each monitoring officer is tasked with covering a minimum of 70 hotspots per month.
They will record their observations on the third sheet of the Virtual Cotton Pest Management Hub on the first day of their visits.
The monitoring officers are responsible for verifying the hotspots, treatment status, and advisory records on the Google Sheet maintained by the Extension and Pest Warning staff.
They will also inspect the condition of the cotton crops, the use of pesticides, nozzles, machinery used for spraying, and spray techniques in their assigned tehsils, and provide remarks in the relevant Google Sheet, the sources stated.
The online mechanism is designed to utilize modern technology for timely pest control, thereby achieving better cotton yields, stated Saqib Ateel.