MP seeks study to recommend treatment packages to control diseases in arecanut plantations

Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta has urged Union Government to commission a time-bound and scientific cost-and-treatment study to recommend treatment packages to control diseases hitting arecanut plantations in Karnataka.

He also urged the government to revise the guidelines of Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

Speaking under Rule 377 in the Lok Sabha on July 20, Capt. Chowta said that arecanut growers in the coastal and Malnad regions of Karnataka are facing recurring leaf spot disease (LSD), yellow leaf disease (YLD) and fruit rot disease requiring scientific diagnosis,  plant protection measures, nutrient correction, proper drainage system in plantations, surveillance and in severely affected gardens, and replantation.

The study sought should be led by the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in co-ordination with the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, he said.

The study should establish disease-stage-specific protocols; per-hectare input, labour and diagnostic costs; maintenance period; drainage and replantation needs, he said.

Existing assistance to farmers under the MIDH is based on standard components and unit costs, which may not adequately cover the full scientific treatment package, or regional variations in disease intensity, Capt. Chowta said.

Based on the study (to be commissioned), the Union Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare should revise relevant MIDH norms or guidelines, and create a disease-specific control package with priority for small and marginal growers. The revised framework should permit diagnostics, extension support and phased treatment rather than one-time input assistance. The study should be completed before preparation of the next annual State Action Plans, and placed in the public domain, he said.

In May, 2026, in a letter to Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Capt. Chowta stated that while scientific management protocols developed by ICAR–CPCRI have provided a roadmap for management of YLD and leaf spot diseases, implementation at the field level continues to face financial constraints. He said the Centre had, in 2023, sanctioned ₹225 crore to Karnataka under a 60:40 funding formula to fight LSD and YLD. The assistance could not effectively be utilised following expenditure ceilings under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), which do not adequately reflect the actual cost of disease management recommended by CPCRI.

He, therefore, requested the government to provide a specific exemption from existing MIDH expenditure limits for disease management, and align financial assistance with the actual scientific cost of treatment.