Tumakuru MLAs seek solution for whitefly disease

Bengaluru: MLAs from Tumakuru district, cutting across party lines, urged the government on Friday to provide a suitable solution to the white fly infestation that has had a severe impact on the yield of coconut in the region. 

During Question Hour, JD(S) Floor Leader C B Suresh Babu, said that a white fly could lay thousands of eggs on a single coconut tree branch, effectively destroying it. 

"Ideally, one coconut tree yields 100 coconuts, but it has come down to just 20. The government should take proper steps to check this problem," he said. 

Responding on behalf of Horticulture Minister S S Mallikarjun, Heavy and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said: “Improving the natural disease-resistant capacity of coconuts can help control these diseases. Under the Integrated Nutrient Management scheme, Rs 15.31 crore has been allocated under the Coconut Development Board.”