Coconut farmers in Pollachi North, Pollachi South and Anamalai block are being provided with orientation on preventing the spread of root wilt disease caused by phytoplasma, by the Horticulture Department.
At the initiative of Coconut Development Board, the ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, the Horticulture Department and the TNAU carried out field surveys involving students in these three blocks in recent months.
The field surveys established the prevalence of this disease to a high extent in these three blocks
The affected trees were determined based on the tapering of terminal portion of the trunk, reduction of leaf size, abnormal bending of leaf, and delayed flowering.
An awareness programme on combating this disease was conducted at Aliyar on January 18 for farmers and officials of Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Tenkasi, Krishnagiri and Dindigul.
The farmers have been advised to cut and remove the disease-advanced, uneconomical palms yielding less than 10 nuts per palm per year.
In the long run, the farmers are being advised to adopt the biological method of applying neem cake. The farmers are being provided guidance on applying fertilizers at the rate of 1.3 kg urea, 2 kg super phosphate and 3.5 kg potash per palm per year in the forms of urea, rock phosphate and muriate of potash respectively.
To manage the insect vectors, the farmers have been told to treat the top flow leaf axils with insecticide preparation by mixing 10 grams phorate with 200 grams and or 250 grams powdered neem cake, and place the same around the base of the spindle.
