Over 3,200 hectares of coffee plantations in Karnataka have been affected by stem borer pest due to long dry spell from November 2013 to May 2014.
The incidence of the disease was lower in other major Arabica coffee producing areas of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Non-Traditional Areas, reports The Hindu.
To address the problem, the government has approved a two-year Action Plan (2014-15 and 2015-16) for combating the stem borer in affected areas.
Various steps have been taken to eliminate the disease, including support for gap filling, raising coffee seedlings by growers SHGs/ collectives, supply of pheromone traps at subsidised rates, and a Mission Mode approach for enhanced education, training and demonstration on stem borer control measures.
According to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Friday stem borer pest was amongst the major constraints affecting cultivation of Arabica variety of coffee.
The combined effects of higher temperatures, reduction of shade for increasing the yield of pepper grown as intercrop and lack of timely control measures by the growers have led to increase in the incidence of the pest, said a note issued by the Press Information Bureau.
