Chandigarh, March 12 -- The Punjab agriculture department on Tuesday announced plans to expand the area under cotton cultivation, ensuring farmers have access to certified cotton seeds from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

The announcement was made during a review meeting of preparations for the upcoming Kharif crop season, chaired by agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian. He said that PAU has recommended 87 varieties of hybrid cotton seeds for upcoming Kharif crop season, urging farmers to use only these certified seeds to maximise yields.

Cotton cultivation in the state has shrunk from 8 lakh hectares to just 98,000 hectares due to the infestation of pink bollworm pest. As a result, many farmers have switched to water-intens...