Chapter X 

 Diseases and their Cure 



THE coconut palm, like most tropical plants, 

 is subject to a number of diseases caused 

 by parasitic vegetable organisms, fungi and 

 bacteria. These diseases vary in their effect accord- 

 ing to locality and the promptitude with which they 

 are discovered and eradicated. There are many 

 varieties known to planters, the principal being : 

 Bud rot, root disease, stem-Heeding disease and leaf 

 disease. With the exception of the second, they may 

 be expected to attack trees of all ages from four 

 years upwards. The trees present a very similar 

 appearance when suffering from any one of these 

 diseases, the leaves in every case drooping and 

 looking yellow and sickly, while in some cases the 

 tips of the leaflets may be broken and hang down- 

 wards. Such leaflets are dry and greyish in appear- 

 ance and are attached to unhealthy parent leaves. 

 Bud rot appears in the heart of the crown of the 

 tree, its presence being indicated by the above 

 changes. It is characterised by a complete rotting 



