The insect known as “White fly” has posed a severe threat to the coconut harvest and the harvest is dropping drastically, Acting Director of Coconut Research Institute (CRI), Dr. Mrs. Nayani Arachchige said.
She said if immediate steps are not taken to control this harmful insect by the authorities, the harvest of coconuts would come down by millions of nuts further in the coming months.
Nearly 1.1 million acres of coconut lands have been affected by this insect. The country’s coconut harvest in 2023 was 3.4 billion. The coconut harvest of this year (2024) has come down to 2.9 billion. The price of a coconut is over Rs. 100 these days.
Coconut cultivation in the Northern, Eastern, and North Central Provinces are badly affected by “White fly”. Applying Margosa oil to the affected coconut trees has shown positive results in controlling the insect. Coconut branches and leaves become severely dry due to this insect. However, coconut trees should be given potassium sufficiently with a good supply of water as well, she said.
Kurunegala District Coconut Planters’ Association President H.M.Jayasumana told the Sunday Observer that nearly five million nut-bearing coconut trees are felled annually for constructions, housing and other development work and new coconut seedlings are not planted for the felled trees.
He said laws have been introduced to ban the felling of coconut trees but the legal action is not taken against errant coconut tree fellers. Fragmentation of coconut lands for sale by house and property sales companies is also on the increase.
Subsidy schemes and the supply of high quality fertiliser should be provided to small scale coconut growers at concessionary rates. Increasing labour charges, maintenance costs of coconut estates, threats by monkeys and giant squirrels to the coconut cultivation have seriously affected coconut production,” Jayasumana added.
