The Hindu Business Line : Alert on coconut leaf rot

THE Agromet bulletin dated October 11 and issued by the Met Office, Thiruvananthapuram, has warned coconut farmers of a bout of leaf and bud rot in the medium term.

Spraying of one per cent Bordeaux mixture has been recommended for affected trees. The farm advisory for three days said transplanting of seedlings can be continued in `Mundakan' paddy fields where application of organic manure has been completed at least 10-15 days earlier.

New planting of banana, tapioca, seasonal vegetables and perennial crops such as coconut, arecanut, clove, cashew and cocoa can also be continued with.

Stage and state of crops: Harvest and post-harvest operations are over in the case of `Virippu' paddy crop. Manure and fertiliser application and transplanting operations are in progress in `Mundakan'. Cashew has reached the flushing stage and plant protection measures are being adopted to prevent a possible tea mosquito attack.

In coconut and arecanut, digging and top dressing operations are proceeding apace. New planting of banana, tapioca and sugarcane is also being taken up. Intercultural weeding operations and harvesting are in progress in cardamom.

Summary of weather: The southwest monsoon was weak over Kerala on October 7 and 10. Rain occurred at isolated places on these days. Dry weather prevailed on October 8 and 9.

Chief amounts of rainfall in mm are (Oct 7 to 10):

Oct 7: Kollam - 6

Oct 10: Mavelikara - 18.4 and Konni - 17

Mean maximum temperature varied between 31 deg C and 33 deg C in various districts. The highest maximum of 33.8 deg C was recorded at Punalur on October 8 and 9. The maximum temperature was 3 deg C above normal in Kollam district on October 9 and in Ernakulam on October 10.

The mean minimum temperature varied between 21 deg C and 23 deg C, with Kottayam recording the lowest minimum of 20.2 deg C on October 8. The minimum temperature was 3 deg C below normal in Alappuzha district on October 7 and 8.

Mean relative humidity varied between 66 per cent and 88 per cent, mean cloud coverage between 2 okta and 5 okta and mean wind speed, 2 kmph and 10 kmph.

Forecast valid until October 13 spoke about the possibility of rain at isolated places in all districts. Outlook for the subsequent days did not indicate any significant change.

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