The team of officials and scientists inspecting a coconut farm at Pollachi in Coimbatore district on Monday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement.
In the wake of spurt in whitefly (rugose spiralling whitefly) and root wilt infestations in coconut plantations, a Central team carried out inspections at farms in Pollachi North, Pollachi South, Anamalai and Kinathukadavu blocks on Monday (November 3, 2025).
The team consisting of officials and scientists of Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Coconut Development Board, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, and senior officials of Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Government of Tamil Nadu, inspected the crops and took stock of the damages to the plantations.
The main thrust of intervention strategies to be formulated will be on preventing the spread of the infestations, a senior official said.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, carries out intervention through the State Agriculture Universities, supported by Coconut Development Board (CDB). Destruction of heavily infested older leaves to bring down the pest population is one of the intervention methods.
State Agriculture universities are expected to be provided with funding for mass multiplication of parasites and predators for controlling the invasive pest, and make the bio-control agent available to the coconut farmers at affordable cost.
The CDB’s role is to assist the farming community to adopt the prescribed scientific method to control the pest.
During February, a CPCRI team carried out a field inspection of coconut plantations in Coimbatore district and advocated application of correct doses of potassium to increase resistance, installation of yellow sticky traps around the palm trunk, and use of aphelinid parasitoids for conservation biological control to eliminate two whitefly species: rugose spiralling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin) and Bondar’s nesting whitefly (Paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi).
Farmers lamented during the monthly grievances redress programme last Friday that productivity has been severely dented due to the spurt in whitefly infestation.
Based on a report on the survey by the Central team, which also visited coconut farms in Theni district, the intervention strategies will be put in place, officials added.
Published – November 05, 2025 12:01 am IST
