Mangaluru: The incidence of yellow leaf disease and leaf spot in arecanut plantations has declined this year, with growers attributing the drop to weak and uneven monsoon rains and timely preventive measures. Mahesh Puchchappady, president of the All India Areca Growers’ association, said only 2–3% of plantations might have reported the disease this season.Compared to previous years, the spread is limited. Most farmers had already undertaken preventive pesticide spraying, the effect of which is expected to last for around 30 days, he said. On concerns over sub-standard imported areca being mixed with local produce, he said this is largely being done by middlemen and not farmers, and that awareness is being spread among growers to remain vigilant. He also noted that multi-cropping alongside arecanut has increased in recent years.Further, he said that the availability of copper sulphate has improved, but prices have risen from around Rs 300 last year to Rs 500 now. Ibrahim Doddamani, joint director, department of horticulture, Mangaluru, said the dry spell in June has contributed to the lower incidence of the disease. However, he said that overall rainfall has been about 37% below normal, which remains a concern for crop health. With rains picking up now, there may not be major problems, he said.Arecanut is cultivated around 6,91,544 hectares, and the production is in 1019408 tonnes in Karnataka, as per a 2024 data from the Horticulture department, with Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi among the largest producers alongside other key districts including Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru and Uttara Kannada.An official from the central arecanut and cocoa marketing and processing co-operative limited (Campco) said the disease may not have declined significantly, but its spread has been limited and has not occurred on a large scale this year. On the issue of sub-standard imported areca, the official said such nuts, which were earlier reported in northern regions, have been noticed more in Dakshina Kannada this year. Advisories have been issued to member societies and such produce is not officially supplied but enters through intermediaries, the official said.Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada MP Brijesh Chowta, on July 20, raised the issue in the Lok Sabha seeking amendments to the mission for integrated development of horticulture (MIDH) to provide scientific solutions to leaf spot, yellow leaf and fruit rot diseases affecting arecanut growers. He stressed the need for comprehensive scientific measures, including diagnosis, plantation hygiene, nutrient management, proper drainage, continuous monitoring and replanting in severely affected areas.
