The crop diversification policy of the Haryana government seems to be bearing fruit at last. The area under cotton crop in the state is going to increase to 5.25 lakh hectares from the 4.83 lakh hectares last year, said sources in the Haryana Agriculture Department. Both the desi variety and the BT cotton is going to be sown over a larger area this year. Cotton is generally grown in Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad and Bhiwani districts. May is the sowing season for BT cotton. Having found general acceptability among the people, BT cotton had become more popular with the farmers now. Sources in the Agriculture Department said farmers in Haryana were being encouraged to sow more BT cotton this year to gain a higher yield and more profit. As many as 200 training camps were being organised in different villages of the state to acquaint farmers with the latest scientific techniques with regard to the cotton crop. Scientists from Choudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, and Central Cotton Research Institute, Sirsa, would be available in these camps to provide technical knowhow to the farmers and answer their queries regarding the cultivation of cotton. Sources in the Haryana Agriculture University said if the farmers were interested in sowing BT cotton, they should be very careful about the seeds they use as there were a number of spurious seeds available in the market as well. The farmers should use BT varieties approved by the Haryana government. Sources in the department said farmers were being advised to seek receipt of the purchase so that in case of spurious seed, the seller could be taken to task. Among the desi cotton crop, the Agriculture recommended cotton varieties of HD 107,HD 123, HD 324 and AAH 1 and American cotton with varieties of HS6 and H1117 with certified seeds. Under the prevailing weather condition in the state, these varieties are likely to be more suitable.