Mangaluru: The severe damage caused by the Yellow Leaf Disease (YLD) to the arecanut plantations has forced the farmers and scientists to work on developing plants immune to the disease.
Arecanut is one of the chief crops of Karnataka. The Yellow Leaf Disease infecting the arecanut plantation has severely affected the areca growers, especially in Sullia and Puttur Taluks of Dakshina Kannada district and Sringeri region of Chikkamagaluru district.
The YLD has resulted in a drastic fall in the arecanut production and adversely affected the farmers.
"In some places of Dakshina Kannada , the arecanut production has decreased by half. The CAMPCO branch near Sampaje which used to get 750 quintals during 2013-14 now gets only 350 quintals. This is just one example. The YLD is spreading and affecting new plantations. To resolve the issue, the farmers and scientists of Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) have come together to develop plants immune to the disease," Mahesh Puchhappady, general secretary, All India Areca Growers' Association told Deccan Chronicle.
In some of the plantations affected by YLD there are few trees which remained unaffected, indicating that they are resistant to the YLD. The growers and scientists are visiting plantations and are marking the healthy plants in the age group of 25 years situated in the YLD hotspots.
"We are selecting the trees in those plantations affected by the disease for last 15-20 years. After identifying these trees, the next step would be to have inter-pollination among these trees. The new crop obtained from the process will be immune to the disease," Mahesh added.
