Major breakthrough: PAU develops leaf curl virus-resistant breeding lines for cotton crop | Chandigarh News

In a breakthrough for the cotton crop cultivation in the region, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has successfully developed virus-resistant breeding lines against the Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) by utilising a wild cotton species Gossypium armourianum. Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, said that the breakthrough has been achieved after more than two decades of research by the university’s cotton scientists. “Carried by sap-sucking insect whitefly, CLCuD is the most severe disease affecting American cotton in the North Indian states of Punjab, Haryana,…