August 02, Colombo (LNW): In a significant move to tackle the whitefly infestation affecting coconut and king coconut plantations, the Agriculture Department has introduced over 300,000 ‘Encarsia Guadeloupe’ parasites this year, according to the Coconut Cultivation Board.
Reports indicate that whitefly damage is currently impacting several coconut-growing regions. However, recent rainfall in the Western Province and other areas has somewhat mitigated the damage.
Whiteflies, which are particularly attracted to the colour yellow, have caused more severe damage to king coconut plantations compared to regular coconut trees. So far, 1,051,323 affected coconut and king coconut trees have been treated.
The whitefly infestation has drastically reduced coconut yields, leading to a significant decrease last year.
To combat this, the Coconut Cultivation Board has distributed 700 liquid spray machines for applying coconut oil extract and conducted 3,046 awareness programmes for coconut farmers.
Plans for 2024 include distributing two million coconut saplings to farmers, with 800,000 saplings already given out. Additionally, 11,401 king coconut saplings have been distributed, and 23,233 king coconut seeds have been planted in nurseries to increase sapling availability.
