Prevailing of Black Shadow on White Gold by Impacting Climate Change, Suggestions and Recommendations for Revival of Cotton Production in Pakistan

The Indus river basin is one of the largest cotton-growing areas in Pakistan. Cotton cultivation in this region is facing severe challenges from rapidly declining groundwater levels and the increasing number of droughts and floods, infestations of cotton insect pest complex. Predictable climate changes are expected in the future adding the uncertainty of cotton production in this region. The overall goal of this article provides and recommends, how to revive the cotton production and control of insect pest complex through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and preserving the beneficial insect with the reference to climate change. Pakistan is ranked fifth on the 2019 Global Long-Term Climate Risk Index and it is severely impacting the negative effects of climate change on cotton production. Various emission scenarios predict that climate change will have an increasingly serious effect on the hydrology of the Indus Basin. Due to significant climate change, increase in the average temperature of the globe, the change in precipitation amounts, their patterns, and the impact of their location on cotton production. On the other side climate change conditions cotton pest especially sucking e.g. Whitefly, thrips, mealybug, aphids and mites, chewing pest like pink bollworm and armyworm have adapted to the climatic elements that help them to survive, grow, reproduce and spread based on host abundance and interaction. The impacts of climate change on cotton crops could also have a serious socio-economics implication for the rural and urban people living in the Indus Basin. In response to these climate change threats, several measures are needed to sustain cotton production and enable sustainable growth of the sectors related to cotton crops in a manner that reduces poverty, increases resilience, and achieves food security. This research article will help to shift a new paradigm to revive cotton production by successfully adapting the suggestions and recommendations to climate change and able to sustain their livelihoods in Pakistan.