State govt has released Rs. 4 cr to tackle areca leaf spot disease: Min Araga Jnanendra

Bengaluru: State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that the government has sanctioned Rs. 4 crores out of Rs. 8 crores with an immediate effect, allotted to tackle the areca palm leaves black spot disease.

Speaking to the media on Monday, October 5 he said, “The areca palm leaves black spot disease has spread across 20,000 hectares of areca plantation including districts namely, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, and Kodagu. The government has directed the State Horticulture Department to release the amount towards spraying of medicine”.

“To purchase the best medicine available in the market, the government will allot funds of Rs. 4000 per hectare. In the first phase it will be made available to farmers owning areca farms within 1.5 hectares”, he added.

Earlier, the home minister had met State Horticulture Minister Munirathna and Stat Fisheries Minister S Angara and discussed tackling the leaf spot disease.