ARECANUT LEAF YELLOWING IN WAYANAD AND NORTHERN KERALA DUE TO NITROGEN LEACHING

L THANKAMMA |

Consequent on the unusually heavy South West Monsoon rains during 2013 frequent reports are being received from high range areas on the western sides of western ghats in the northern districts of Kerala especially from Wayanad that extensive areas of Arecanut plantations are on the verge of destruction due to a number of disease problems the most important of them being severe leaf yellowing. The total canopy of the trees turn to yellow discolouration and total death of the canopy and consequent death of the tree. The growers there , fed up with the severity of the problem are reported to spend lakhs of rupees for spraying different fungicides which prove to be totally useless thereby Arecanut farms proving to be highly unproductive incurring severe loss to the growers thereby proving to be a liability rather than an asset to them. Many have disclosed their decision to embark upon rubber cultivation and some have already started work on that. Yes, definitely leaf yellowing of arecanut is a serious problem indeed. The same problem is noticed in the case of coconut trees as well all over the state especially in low lying areas and also close to water bodies especially river banks and on the side of back waters lakes rivers and canals. This very same problem is the one which is responsible for the significantly low production of coconut in the state. The problem is very severe ever since the high rainfall during 2007 and it is at its climax during 2013. What is the real problem that causes the yellowing of arecanut at Wayanad and other northern districts of Kerala on a large scale threatening the very existence of the trees? Is it due to some disease caused by pathogens? No, not at all. This unusual leaf yellowing is induced as a result of NITROGEN LEACHING caused by unusually high rainfall. Arecanut as well as coconut belong to the same family Palmae and are both monocotyledons . While the venation or the orientation of veins in the leaves of dicots is reticulate or net like , it is parallel in the monocots. The root system in the dicots consists of a central sturdy taproot providing anchorage and a number of sturdy and woody lateral ones which spread in all directions and the branches and branchlets from these all together will form a close network of roots in the soil all around just below the soil surface. It is this fine network that firmly holds together the soil around the base preventing soil erosion whereby the nutrients are held fast along with avoiding loss of water upwards by evaporation So the heavy biomass on the top of soil accumulated during wintering especially in the case of rubber, will accumulate on the ground , gradually decompose and get absorbed again by the tree slowly, a continuous process ensuring sustainable supply of nitrogenous nutrients for the whole tree all throughout which can never be put an end to even by very severe downpours however strong and continuous they are. Compared to this in the case of Areca nut or even coconut the venation is parallel, and the root system is devoid of a taproot to fix it in the soil firmly, the roots are all adventitious ones of uniform thickness and unbranched. They can never form a close network enabling them to hold the soil firmly all around. The soil in between remains loose and whatever nutrients are there at the base of the tree they can easily dissolve in the rain water and can get drained out very easily and the whole canopy has got no other go than to turn slowly into yellowish tinge, the colour assuming deeper yellow as the rainfall increases. This is how leaf yellowing is caused. The nature of the very anatomy of the tree is not at all suitable for prevention of leaching of the nutrients and hence they leach away very easily leaving the tree totally yellow, later brown and totally dead in the end.

In the case of a farm with arecanut or coconut grown as monoculture the biomass produced is much less and whatever produced is not usually made available to the tree. Even if some part is available because of the inefficiency of the root system whatever nutrients are there or are added as fertilisers are not available as it drains away soon in the heavy rainfall. Hence the nutrient requirement of the tree is never fulfilled , they are starved and they express it as severe leaf yellowing and consequent death. Compared to this in a rubber farm of one hectare at the annual wintering time 8000 to 10000 kg of biomass is added every year as dried leaves and the whole quantity gets decomposed on the soil surface itself which gets absorbed by the trees judiciously by the close network of the root system which firmly holds the soil around the trees, thus making the nutrients available to the tree the whole year. The same process being repeated every year throughout the life the tree will never face any scarcity for nutrients whatsoever, making the rubber trees EVERGREEN TREES. However severe the rainfall is during the monsoon, can a single rubber tree turn into yellowish colour? Never. Therefore the option is to cut off the Arecanut trees in farms with severe yellow canopies and plant the farms with rubber of clone RRII 105. Prevent the incidence of pink disease by prophylactic Bordeaux paste application only two times in the whole life, during the second and third year of growth. Then forget about the disease control problem. Grow ground cover with cover crop Pueraria phaseoloides. When mature harvesting of the crop has to be done using IUT technology alone. It will successfully ensure very high income to the grower Health and long life expectancy to the trees High income to the grower Remedy for Global Warming by providing afforesation most effectively Answer for water conservation, soil conservation, soil erosion and land slide . Protection for Western Ghats and most important of all Freedom from highly hazardous carcinogenic yield stimulant. If anybody is particular that Arecanut tree is a must never grow them as monoculture but only as a mixed farm with other dicot trees, with addition of organic manure mulching and also cover crop at the base.