THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 4: The arecanut farmers in Kerala are struggling to fight an unmanageable yellowing disease of the trees in the arecanut belt, which has cut down the crop by 50 per cent. The arecanut cultivation has raised high hopes among farmers as its has started yielding as high as Rs 100 per kilo. The trauma of the arecanut tragedy has been its sheer suddenness. Rubber farmers in North Kerala, who shifted to arecanut cultivation last year, had been anticipating both a bumper crop and a high price. It is hardly three years since arecanut prices became promising in a band of Rs 90-100 per kilo.There are farmers who even went for hard loans to expand their arecanut farms. Both the fall in quality and quantity of arecanut due to disease has lessened the profits.
Neither agricultural R&D nor traditional farming wisdom has been able to offer effective checks on the invasion of yellowing disease. The government support in the form of compensation or marketing subsidy is also yet to materialise,N Babu, secretary, Association of Arecanut Farmers told The Financial Express.
The yellowing epidemic, caused by phytoplasm is eating up whole plantations in Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in North Kerala. The disease is spread by an insect called proutista moista. The disease starts from the leaf tip, leaving the stem and the main artery of the leaf green for a long while.
Once all the leaves yellow, the fruits start thinning.This affects the weight of the nuts also. Fruits fall off before maturity. Moreover, a disease struck tree falls within two years.
Newer breeds of arecanut like Mangala and Sumangala are more vulnerable to phytoplasm attack than conventional varieties, according to farmers. The conventional varieties are at least responsive to indigenous pest management measures, said a farmer. Treatment of diseased trees with coirpith and poultry manure are said to show slowdown in the spread of the disease. The only viable solution, according to C Thampan, an agriculturalscientist is to identify resistant trees from disease-affected plantations and develop more resistant varieties from them. This affects this year's crop in a big way. The farm which yielded 40 quintal last year hardly produced 27 quintal this year, said an arecanut farmer. It is obvious that the farm R&D on phytoplasm management has reached nowhere. At present there are no effective cures.
The government, agricultural scientists and farming community will have to put their heads together to develop preventive measures at the earliest. Research in this direction has been initiated in Central Plantation Crop Research Institute (CPCRI) centres in Kayamkulam, Kasargode and Vitla.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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