960421

_Cotton to be sown

on 5.4m acres

in Punjab

LAHORE: Punjab Agriculture Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema on Thursday said that cotton crop would be sown over an area of 53.99 lakh acres during the coming Kharif season.

A production target of 80 lakh cotton bales has been set for the year 1996-97 in the Punjab province, he added.

In a statement issued here, he said that Punjab Seed Corporation (PSC) would distribute 3.75 lakh maunds cotton seed among the growers this year.

Cheema said that the varieties of which seeds was being distributed during the coming sowing season were Niab-78, CIM-240, CIM-109, MNH-93, MNH-147, BH-36 and SLS-1.

He said that the price of the seed had been decreased this year to Rs. 720 per 40 kg bag from previous year's Rs. 725 per bag.

He appealed to the growers to sow only certified cottonseed.

PADDY

Cheema said that PSC would distribute 31,000 maunds paddy seed during the coming Kharif season. The seed varieties to be distributed among farmers are Super Basmati, Basmati-385, KS-282 and Irri-6.-APP