Coconut planting suspended in Matara to curb diseases

Bandula GUNASEKARA and T. K. ARIYADASA

The Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) has decided to suspend the planting of coconut in the Matara district temporarily to curb the spread of leaf-rot disease.

Transport of coconut saplings from Matara to other districts has banned and instructions were already issued to police to take action against those violate the regulation, the Board said.

The Board says over 150,000 coconut palms in Matara district were attacked by the blight and instructions were given to the cultivators in a special gazette notification to remove the coconut trees affected by the disease, without permission.

Meanwhile action had been taken to close down the coconut nursery at Weligama temporarily and not to issue coconut seedlings to cultivators as a measure to curb the spread of the disease, Matara Regional Branch of the board A. Weerasinghe told the Daily News.