Barbados has placed high hopes for future foreign exchange earnings on the export of its West Indian Sea Island Cotton and the development of the sector from merely being a primary supplier of raw material to an end-producer of garments and other cotton-based products.

But perhaps the major problem currently facing local cotton farmers is the fact that a variety of agricultural pests are eating away their crops.

And so, The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has embarked upon an extensive pest management programme for the cotton industry, says the GIS.

The effort is being undertaken as the Barbados government renews its commitment to protecting the WISICA brand, which is synonymous with the very best cotton grown anywhere in the world, to the tune of $400,000.

According to Dr. Yelitza Edwards, who is spearheading an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme for cotton, a complex system of pests, including the notorious Pink boll worm, the Cotton boll worm, and the Thrips, have been wreaking havoc within the industry.

The IPM programme, which was started late last year, is being carried out in collaboration with a scientific team from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is said to be the most extensive one to be undertaken within the sector.
In addition to data collection, a series of seminars have been conducted for farmers across the island to educate them about the various pests, the natural enemies which help to control them, and the thresholds at which insecticides should be applied. Dr., Edwards said scientists today were taking the issue of biological control very seriously due to pollution wrought by the over-use of pesticides.

But she noted that primary research must be done in Barbados, since information from biological control and IPM programmes in other countries is non-transferable – especially because of the unique nature of the our Sea Island Cotton.

“It is a wholistic approach to managing cotton. No longer can we just think about spraying; we are trying to get away from that type of mentality. We are looking at safer ways of growing the crop, while still having a high level of production,” explained Entomologist, Brett Taylor.

“So, it will no longer be a situation of calendar spraying – where farmers spray weekly as a matter of course. It will be a situation where you have tools to make an informed decision. We can increase the number of natural enemies, namely the parasitoids and predators, while decreasing the use of insecticides or using safer ones,” the entomologist pointed out.