What is Bud Rot Disease?
Coconut growers of Tiptur taluk, Tumakuru district, Karnataka, are worried as coconut trees are increasingly affected by Bud Rot Disease causing their crowns to break and fall off.
- Bud Rot Disease is a fatal disease of the coconut palm, characterized by the rotting of the terminal bud and the surrounding tissues.
- It affects the palms of all ages, but young palms are found to be most vulnerable.
- It is caused by the fungus Phytophthora palmivora, which attacks the growing point of the coconut palm.
- Once the growing point is attacked, the palm is beyond recovery.
- The incidence is found to be severe during the monsoon when the relative humidity is high.
- With the onset of dry weather, the infection becomes less severe, and the fungus remains dormant in the leaf base.
- The disease is often seen in river banks subject to flooding. Normally, the disease is observed sporadically in widely scattered palms.
