Areca planters to seek financial assistance to tackle yellow leaf disease

A team of stakeholders in arecanut cultivation, including representatives from farmers and arecanut cooperatives such as Campco (Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative) Ltd apart from scientists, has decided to approach the Arecanut Task Force constituted by the Karnataka for financial assistance to farmers to tackle the yellow leaf disease (YLD) in the plantations.

Kishore Kumar Kodgi, President of Campco, who was part of the team, said steps will be taken to implement the package suggested by the participating scientists in some farmers’ fields during this year itself.

He said plastic mulching in an acre of arecanut plantation requires an investment of more than ₹35,000. A farmer with small holding of less than an acre cannot afford it, and most such farmers have been affected by YLD in areas such as Koppa, Sringeri and Sullia.

Considering this, the taskforce will be requested to provide financial assistance to such farmers who are ready to implement this package for managing the disease, he said.

P Chowdappa, former Director of Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, who was part of a team, said CPCRI and the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences of Shivamogga, have done trials on YLD from 2015 to 2020, and found encouraging results from trials.

He said YLD is caused by sub-microscopic organisms called phytoplasmas. There is no chemical control measure for this.

Plastic mulching in plantations has to be taken up before the onset of monsoon. Stating that effective moisture control can help bring down the incidence of disease, he said the combination of plastic mulching with use of bio-fertilisers and spraying of microbial nutrients will help in managing the spread of disease.

Homey Cherian, Director of the Kozhikode-based Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, who was part of the deliberations, said that around 10,000 hectares of arecanut plantations have been affected by YLD. The farmers who attended the meeting said the extent of area affected by YLD could be at 14,000 hectares in Karnataka.

Chowdappa said plantations in some taluks of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts are affected by YLD.

He said the meeting also suggested long-term measures such as the cultivation of fruit crops, including rambutan, avocado, mangosteen and dragon-fruit, as inter-crop in the arecanut plantations. People can also think of replacing arecanut with oil palm cultivation in the YLD-affected regions as a long-term measure, he added.

Kodgi said the meeting has also decided to submit these strategies to the Arecanut Task Force and to the Karnataka government for their support in implementing measures.

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