Over 5,500 arecanut farmers hit due to Yellow Leaf Disease

The Yellow Leaf Disease (YLD) has ravaged arecanut plantation spread of 1,217.38 hectares in Sullia and Puttur taluks of Dakshina Kannada district, an official from the Horticulture Department said during the tri-monthly Karnataka Development Programmes (KDP) review meeting held at Zilla Panchayat Hall on Tuesday.

“A total of 5,588 farmers have suffered losses as their arecanut plantation are infected with the disease,” the official said.

The meeting was chaired by District In-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary.

The officer added that as no remedy was found to check the spread of the diseases, the farmers have been asked to grow alternative crops.

Farmers have shown interest in cultivating coconut, cashew nuts, cocoa and oil palm as an alternative to arecanut. A detailed project report for alternative crops and financial assistance was submitted to the government through the deputy commissioner.

Pointing out that the YLD had also destroyed plantations in Koppa, Sringeri and N R Pura taluks of the Chikkamagaluru district, Puttur MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor and MLC Bhoje Gowda said that compensation should be paid to the growers for the loss of crops as they are in distress now without any sources of income.

Gowda added that the affected plantations should be cleared to take up fresh crops.

District In-charge Poojary said that a delegation comprising MLAs from DK and MLC Bhoje Gowda will be taken to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and compensation will be sought for the growers affected by YLD.

When MLC Prathap Simha Nayak highlighted the issue of a mysterious disease affecting arecanut plantation in Malavanthige Gram Panchayat, the officer from horticulture department clarified that it was not YLD.