The Hindu Business Line : Groves uprooted following poor yield — Coconut farmers look for alternative crops

FARMERS in some pockets of Karnataka are uprooting coconut trees because of the low returns from the crop, according to a Horticulture Department study.

The study was conducted in various coconut-growing areas, after a report said that farmers were uprooting coconut trees following mite attacks. "People have been uprooting trees, but mite is not the cause," said Dr G.K. Vasanthkumar, Director, Horticulture Department.

At least 260 trees, between the age of 10 to 20 years, in Maddur and Malavalli have been cut down. Coconut groves are being replaced by sugarcane and paddy, which is expected to make up for the loss from coconut, said the report. The poor returns are mainly because of low yields, said sources.

The report also said that trees were not very well looked after and the farmers had failed to follow best practices and had not applied pesticides as recommended. Horticulture Department sources said that neglect rather than mite attack was the reason for lower productivity.

Sources also said that it was possible some growers were blaming the mite in hope of compensation from the Government.

Last year, the Government's steps to control mite was not very successful and farmers panicked when they saw trees trunks "bleeding" in places where pesticides had been injected. Government sources and scientists say that this was because farmers did not follow the correct stem injection methods.

This year, the State Government had decided to handle mite control in a different way. Last year, the Government spent Rs 10-11 crore on the exercise with indifferent results according to scientists. This year, the outlay will be lower and the focus will be on setting up demonstration farms where growers can see the correct method of pesticide usage. Farmers will, however, have to pay for the pesticide on their own and no subsidies would be given, said Horticulture Department sources.

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