As diseases take hold of their trees, coconut farmers in Pollachi belt are in severe distress

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Coconut farmers in Pollachi, Kinathukadavu, Anamalai and Udumalpet are in distress, as their coconut crops have been affected by a number of diseases, including root wilt, whitefly and Tanjore wilt. Farmers have now begun cutting the affected trees.

Pollachi, Anamalai, Kinathukadavu and Udumalpet account for a large share of coconut crops in the region, and farmers here had already been hit by falling prices of copra and coconut. Now, farmers are facing the additional problem of three diseases affecting a substantial section of their standing crops, and as a result, are axing the trees,

P. Latha, associate professor at the Coconut Research Station, Aliyar, said that efforts are now on to sensitise farmers on the fertiliser inputs and the proportion in which fertilisers have to be mixed and laid at the trunk of the coconut trees. She said 1 kg of urea, 2 kg of super phospate and 3 kg of potassium have to mixed and then laid at a depth of five to six feet under the trees. Only by doing this, can the diseases be controlled, she said.

Similarly, for coconuts that shrink in size, the farmers will have to use a coconut tonic twice an year. Farmers are at liberty to approach the research station for further assistance, she said.