Bathinda, June 30 -- The Punjab government's initiative to encourage cotton cultivation by offering a 33% subsidy on seeds doesn't seem to be attracting farmers, with enrolments for the scheme dropping 63% from last year. According to the state agriculture department, just 19,000 farmers registered with the authorities this year compared to 52,000 in 2025 - a drop attributed primarily to pest attacks and unfavourable weather conditions since 2021, which caused widespread damage to the cotton crop. To boost the morale of the farming community, the Punjab government started granting a 33% subsidy on certified BT cotton hybrids and desi cotton seed varieties recommended by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in 2023. Subsidy is capped at 5 acres per farmer. However, even in the fourth year of the scheme, cotton growers in Punjab's south Malwa belt continue to shy away from growing cotton, which was once an economic lifeline for the semi-arid region's districts. This crop is typically sown in April and matures by October. Charanjeet Singh, deputy director (Cotton) in the Punjab agriculture department, said as per updated figures, cotton was sown on 80,000 hectares this year, down from 1.19 lakh hectares last year. He added that untimely rain spells in the last one month were likely to further reduce acreage. "Field inputs for cotton cultivation reveal a discouraging picture. Not only has the acreage gone down, the number of farmers growing crops has also decreased," said Singh. He said various parts of the cotton-belt witnessed untimely rainfall after sowing in April, leading to the formation of "krand", a hard soil crust on the surface that stopped cotton seedlings from emerging properly. "Such a situation causes plant mortality and farmers are unlikely to resow due to the higher cost input after the recommended sowing window. Field reports show inadequate availability of canal-based water supply also discouraged farmers from sowing cotton. During the sowing period, the canal water was delayed due to cleaning operations. Breaches in minor irrigation channels in Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar also affected the timely availability of canal water," Singh added. Agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, who was in Bathinda on Friday, said the department lacked in promoting the desi cotton variety PBD88. "Developed and recommended by PAU, PBD88 could have been a breather for this agriculture belt, which has seen a decline in cotton area. Besides being resistant to several pest attacks, the new variety is less labour-intensive and gives a high yield," he added. Experts said the cotton acreage may see an uptick only after the next generation of pink bollworm-resistant (PBW) genetically modified (GM) cotton is introduced in the market. "Various Indian institutes, including PAU, are undertaking trials for Bollgard-III on behalf of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, a central agency. The central government will take a final call for commercial availability of the hybrid after evaluating the outcomes of the trials," said a scientist at PAU....