Minister instructs to start program to control insects in coconut cultivation

Today (11), the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, instructed the relevant officials to start an urgent integrated insect control program within a month to control the insect menaces of whitefly, Black Beetle and Red Weevil which are currently spreading in coconut and king coconut plantations.

The Minister expressed these views while participating in the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries held at the Parliamentary Committee Room No. 02 today afternoon (11).

Members of Parliament who participated in the Advisory Committee pointed out that the damage caused by the white fly is very serious and that the Black Beetle and Red Weevil damage is being reported from all parts of the island.

The Minister advised that the Coconut Development Authority, the Coconut Cultivation Board and the Coconut Research Institute should jointly start a integrated program within a month to prevent the damage caused to the coconut plantation by the whitefly and other insects, and that the Coconut Development Authority should provide the financial supporting for the same.

However, the Coconut Research Institute pointed out that the red beetle infestation in coconut cultivation cannot be controlled by biological control methods.

The Coconut Research Institute also pointed out that using a predatory insect to prevent the damage of the whitefly does not achieve the most successful results. This is because only one whitefly species can be controlled by the currently identified predator. But the Coconut Research Institute also pointed out that there are 05 species of whiteflies in the coconut cultivation in our country.

For this reason, it was emphasized that the only treatment to be done to prevent whitefly damage is to spray the extract prepared from Margosa oil and soap on the coconut trees, and that these activities should be done through an integrated program.

However, the minister instructed all the three institutions dealing with coconut cultivation to start this joint program within a month.

The Advisory Committee consists of Ministers of State Mr. D.B. Herath, Mr. Mohan Priyadarshana de Silva, Mr. Kader Mastan and the Secretary of the Ministry Mr. Janaka Dharmakeerthy and others participated

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