FAISALABAD - Agriculture experts have advised the cotton growers to conduct pest scouting of their crops twice a week as attack of whitefly (Sufaid Makhi), pink bollworm (Gulabi Sundi) and other pests was being witnessed in areas where cotton crop was cultivated before April 1. A spokesman for the Agriculture Research Information Department said here Friday that the pest attack started during rainy season and its severity decreased after August. Therefore, the farmers should regularly conduct pest scouting twice a week to save their crops from severe damage. He also advised the cotton farmers to listen to the weather report on radio, television or other media before watering their crops as it was imperative to get bumper yield. “Cotton is a precious crop which not only plays an important role in stabilising national economy but also helps the growers to mitigate their financial problems. Therefore, the farmers should be very careful for this crop and listen to weather report regularly”, he added. He said that the rainwater was also injurious to the crop if it remained stagnant for more than 48 hours in the field. The farmers should ensure proper drain of rainfall within 24 hours from cotton fields, otherwise, it would affect growth of plants and the growers would have to bear colossal loss as the stagnant rainwater would also affect quality as well as quantity of cotton produce, he added.