Cotton is the most important cash crop of Pakistan. It is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and also provides livelihood to millions of people in Pakistan. Southern Punjab (Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and D.G. Khan Divisions) having cotton–wheat-cotton cropping pattern is a major belt of cotton production in Punjab. Research work on cotton was started under Cotton Research Station Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), established in 1902. There has been continuous expansion in cotton research system in Punjab to cater the needs of farmers and other stakeholders. During 1935, one research sub-station was established in Multan for testing the performance of varieties in relatively hotter Southern zone. Cotton Research Institute Multan is the first and the oldest cotton research center established in Southern Punjab with the main objective of developing cotton varieties particularly for this cotton belt.
Cotton Research Sub-Station, Multan was upgraded in 1958 and in addition to testing of varieties developed at Lyallpur (Faisalabad), the task of developing varieties was also entrusted to this center. Office of the Director was shifted from Faisalabad to Multan in 2016 and Cotton Research Station Multan was upgraded to Cotton Research Institute Multan in 2017. At present six substations are working under the umbrella of Director Cotton in Multan, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Khanpur. The organogram of Cotton Research Institute Multan is outlined below:
Mission & Objective
- Improvement in Yield
- Disease Resistance (CLCV)
- Drought Tolerance
- Insect Resistance
- Improvement in Fiber Quality
- Broadening Genetic Base
- Expansion of Gene Pool
- Early Maturity
- Varieties Suitable for high population
- Heat Tolerance
- Development of climate resilient varieties
Future Plans
- Development of ideotypes suited for mechanical picking.
- Molecular assisted selection for CLCuV resistance, long staple cotton, heat tolerance and drought tolerance etc. We need establishment of molecular lab for this purpose.
- Quality assessment of new cotton varieties to facilitate the breeders and to provide quality material to the industry as per the requirement.
- Research and skill oriented Human Resource Development
- Development of low-cost production technology for small farmers.