A series of training programmes for master trainees from different districts of Punjab to combat pink bollworm would start on December 14 here at Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI). The training session would remain to continue till end of December. In the first phase, agricultural officers and field assistants from Vehari, Lodhran, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts would participate in the training programme at the institute, said CCRI Multan Director Dr Zahid Mahmood in a statement issued on Monday. He observed that pink bollworm caused the loss of one to two million bales of cotton worth billions of dollars every year. There is a need to pay close attention to abolishing the bollworm to control losses. The CCRI is launching a series of training programmes for workers of the Department of Agriculture Extension, officers of Agriculture Pest Warning and Quality Control and other staff from different districts across the province.