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Pest devastation will drive coconut price ever higher
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Roshan de silva
By Wasantha Ramanayake
The price of coconut will likely soar further next year unless a national programme to eliminate whitefly pest and fertiliser are not made available at reasonable prices for growers, the industry warns.
A coconut now sells for up to Rs 100.
“We may need to import coconuts next year to bring down soaring prices, which could cost additional two billion US dollars,” said the Coconut Growers Association president, Jayantha Samarakoon. This is more than the export earnings from coconuts and related products, amounting to US$835 million last year.
The whitefly attack on coconut trees could worsen during the dry period from December to March, if a national programme to control the pest is not launched, warned Mr. Samarakoon.
He said coconut smallholders who own 80% of cultivations are not likely to spray their trees with recommended chemicals. “They are unlikely to take recommended measures to control the pest on their own,” he said. They would wait for intervention by the authorities.
When domestic demand could not be met, prices of coconuts would skyrocket.
Out of 1.1 million acres of coconut cultivation, around 800,000 acres belong to the smallholders who own less than one acre, and such cultivations are referred to as home gardens.
Initial signs of whitefly attack
“Out of the country’s annual production of three billion nuts, we consume 1.8 billion nuts, leaving 1.2 nuts for export in various forms and value additions such as desiccated coconuts,” Mr Samarakoon said.
The economic collapse has restricted funding for national programme to spray pesticide to control the pest, the industry stakeholders, including the growers pointed out.
The growers were unable to use fertiliser for almost two years and if they are unable to use it next year, the yield would be reduced by 20%, Mr. Samarakoon warned. “Both the pest and lack of fertiliser would inevitably lead to poor yield.’’
Lunuwila Coconut research institute (CRI) Crop protection division head Roshan de Silva said that the CRI had recommended to the Coconut Development Authority (CDA) of the need to carry out a national programme to control the whitefly menace.
The pest could spread faster in the coming dry period from December, though the rainy weather naturally controlled the spread of the pest significantly.
Although crop damage due to whiteflies have not been quantified, king coconut trees could be the worst affected, significantly reducing the yield.
A coconut tree that has withered and died under attack from whitefly pests
Whitefly attacks were first seen only in vegetables and fruit before the first reports of attacks on coconut trees, reported during the latter part of 2019 from Kegalle district, he noted.
However, the attacks have now spread to Kalutara, Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy, Galle and Matara districts and some areas in Kurunegala and Puttalam districts.
The pest attack is also reported in Alawwa, Narammala and Polgahawela areas in the Kurunegala district, while minor attacks are reported in Wariyapola, Bamunakotuwa, Kurunegala, Kuda Galgamuwa and Ganewatte areas in the same district.
For two months of its life cycle, white flies spend underneath coconut fronds, and it only actively sucks the juice of coconut fronds for one month. The sugary secretion from flies falls on the surface of coconut leaves below it. Then on the leaves below grow fungi called sooty mould which is black. They thrive on the surface and inhibit the photosynthesis process in the leaves affecting the food production, leading to poor quality and low yield, he explained.
The growth of fungi gradually destroys the coconut leaves, said Mr. De Silva.
Through a national programme, this could be controlled within a short period.
Power spray machines are available for free in all regional offices of the CDA.
“You can meet coconut development officers to get assistance to spray the chemicals and hire power sprayers as a group or an individual,” he said.
The most number of coconut trees were affected in the first quarter, as the fight against it was hampered by the coronavirus disease pandemic followed by the fertiliser and pesticide ban last year.
A whitefly colony
“We have implemented the pilot project to power spray a chemical using local antidote in three divisional secretary areas of Dankotuwa, Nattandiya and Wennappuwa at a cost of nine million rupees. This is limited funding, but CDA promised more funding to expand this to other affected areas,” said Mr. Silva.
The private sector stakeholders have supplied some power spray machines, margosa oil and soap mixture and a vehicle to the CRI. The local antidote is recommended as it would be less harmful to natural predators of whiteflies.
With modifications, even knapsack sprayers could be used, he said.
Yellow attracts the whitefly. So king coconut trees are more vulnerable, Mr. De Silva said. As a mechanical method of controlling, a yellow polythene sheet with yellowish grease could be wrapped around the crown of the coconut trees to trap these flies, he said.
“Some people light fires under the coconut trees at a safe distance so that the fumes and heat also could destroy the flies,” he said. These methods along with chemical spraying could eliminate the pest.
“Ideally, this programme should be extended to all affected areas.’’
The CDA is assisting the CRI to implement the pilot project and has promised to provide funds to extend the programme.
The country could easily increase the production of coconuts from three to four billion nuts annually, with proper use of fertiliser and water, he said. This could easily bring US$2 billion in export earnings, more than that from tea.
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