‘Kole roga’ strikes arecanut plantations in Dakshina Kannada again

Tender arecanut hit by fruit rot collected by Ramesh Kaintaje, a grower near Mani in Dakshina Kannada district.

After a five-year gap, the fruit rot disease, or ‘kole roga’, has

become a cause for concern

again in the arecanut plantations of Dakshina Kannada district owing to heavy rainfall.

When the disease struck a large tract of plantations in 2013, the government had to declare a compensation package of ₹30 crore for around 25,000 hectares in the district. In the 2007 monsoon, it affected about 20,000 farmers, for whom the government subsequently declared a compensation of ₹4.59 crore.

Manchi Srinivasa Achar, president of the All-India Areca Growers’ Association, Puttur, told The Hindu that the disease was now severe in between 30% and 60% of the plantations in Dakshina Kannada. An officer with the Department of Horticulture said that according to the official estimates, the disease is widespread in about 50% of the plantations.

According to the department, about 40,000 hectares in the district are under arecanut cultivation. The officer said the department would compile its data on Tuesday as it has sought details on the extent of land affected from its taluk offices.

Ramesh Kaintaje, an arecanut grower from Mani, said that as the areas in the foothills of the Western Ghats, especially in Sullia and Belthangady taluks, had been receiving rain since mid-April itself, arecanut palms and plantations had moisture content even before the onset of monsoon. As the intensity of rains did not come down, many farmers were not able to spray the usual first round of prophylactic solutions in the last week of May or the first week of June to prevent the disease. Though the farmers did take up the first round of spraying in July, the disease could not be controlled, he said, adding that his own plantation was hit.

Mr. Achar said high labour costs — falling between ₹1,500 and ₹2,000 a day — for climbing palms to manually spray the solution, along with a lack of skilled labourers, had forced farmers to delay the first round of spraying.

According to the office of the Deputy Commissioner, the district recorded an average rainfall of 4,002.5 mm till August 20 this year, against the normal of 3,249.6 mm for the first eight months of the year. During the corresponding period last year, the district received 2,282.6 mm of rain.