Bathinda, Oct. 2 -- Experts and farmers are elated over the average yield of 1.5 quintals per acre in the first picking of cotton bolls.

Cotton is generally harvested in three phases from a plant, and a farmer harvests 8-10 quintals per acre. The second and third phases of picking give a higher yield than the first cycle of harvest.

Director of the state agriculture department Jaswant Singh said on Wednesday that unlike the last three consecutive kharif seasons, there was no major pest attack on the cotton this time, which gave hope for the revival of the traditional crop of the state.

However, unseasonal rains damaged the crop in a few pockets and hampered quality in a few other areas.

"This year, cotton was sown on 1.19 lakh hectare...