and Magazine of the Ceylon Agncultural Society. 



409 



(2) Bud rot caused by Pythium Palmi- 

 vorum. — At Changanachery a few cases of this 

 disease in coconuts were seen. It is the 

 cause of the Godavari palmyra palm disease 

 and in the latter district, attacks coconut 

 and areca palms also though less severely. 

 A general description of the G6davari disease 

 has been published in the Agricultural Jour- 

 nal of India, Volume I., Part 4, October 



1906, and a technical account of the parasite 

 in the memories of the Department of Agri- 

 culture in India, Volume I., No. 5, February 



1907. The withering of the central shoot at 

 an early stage of the disease is the most charac- 

 teristic feature and serves to distinguish 

 it from root disease, in which the central 

 shoot is only affected at a later period. 

 The first external symptom is the turning white 

 of an entire leaf, usually towards the centre of 

 the crown. This is rapidly followed by a similar 

 discolouration of the central shoot or unopened 

 leaf that stands up in the centre of the crown. 

 After a short time the central shoot rots and 

 eventually the whole crown falls oft". This is 

 accompanied by an extreme degree of putre- 

 faction, the whole "cabbage" becoming con- 

 verted inside into a foul-smelling, putrid mass. 

 The palm may be killed in a few months, so 

 that the attack is much more virulent than in 

 root disease. Recovery is very rare. On the 

 young unopened leaf blades and the white leaf 

 bases in the " cabbage/'' brown spots with a dis- 

 tinct margin will be found. These are covered 

 with a white felt of fungus threads. In Chan- 

 ganachery, Pythium palmivorum was found pro- 

 ducing its characteristic spores on young leaf 

 blades in the unexpanded stage of the bud. The 

 " cabbage " was so rotted that only small frag- 

 ments of it could be found elsewhere than on 

 the blades. The affected trees were doomed as 

 the apical growing point was affected. 



There is no remedy once the centre of the 

 crown is reached. To save neighbouring palms 

 from infection, it is necessary to cut oft' and 

 burn the diseased crown as soon as one or more 

 internal loaves are observed to have withered. 



This should be done promptly as the disease 

 is highly infectious and is a very dangerouos one. 



(3) Insi:ot Attacks. — The two well-known large, 

 insects which attack coconut palms, the black 

 beetle or rhinoceros beetle and the red beetle 

 or palm weevil, are common in Travancore. 

 Only the latter's attacks are liable to be mis- 

 taken for root disease and that only excep- 

 tionally. In a few cases the weevil attacks the 

 cabbage in such a manner as to cause several 

 of the central leaves to turn yellow. These, 

 however, dry up simply because they have been 

 partly eaten through at the base, and conse- 

 quently they can be easily pulled out, when 

 the cause of the injury will be evident. Most 

 palm climbers will tell at once by examining 

 an affected crown whether it is due to weevil 

 or not, as all are familiar with the white fat 

 grub an inch or two long and with the damage 

 it causes. The black or rhinoceros beetle is 

 common on diseased as well as healthy palms 

 and its effects may be easily recognised by 

 the ragged appearance of the leaves of attacked 

 trees. These are often partly eaten through 

 while still folded within the bud and, after ex- 

 panding, a symmetrical portion of the leaf or 

 of a few leaflets is found to have been bitten off. 



A scale insect occurs on the leaves in some 

 locaIities,and produces a yellowing which might 

 be mistaken on a superficial examination for 

 root disease. It is easily recognised on turning 

 over the leaf, when numerous colonies of a small 

 brown insect closely fastened to the under sur- 

 face of the leaf will be found. 



E. J. Butler, Imperial Mycologist. 



20th December, 1907. 



[The above report of the Imperial Mycologist 

 has reached us. It is a lengthy document, but 

 as we find on perusal that in addition to the 

 description of the disease, it contains much 

 valuable practical advice regarding the culti- 

 vation of the coconut palm and is altogether a 

 most instructive and important document, we 

 have decided to print it in full. The chief 

 recommendation made by Dr. Butler as regards 

 British territory is that the import of living- 

 plants from Travancore and of any portion of 

 the roots and underground stem should bo 

 prohibited. Hon. Mr. J. N. Atkinson, c.S.r., is, 

 we note, on behalf of the Agricultural Branch 

 of the Madras Revenue Department, asking Dr. 

 Butler to prepare a brief note descriptive of the 

 disease suitable for translation into Malayalani 

 and wide circulation among all village officers, 

 leading agriculturists, and agricultural associ- 

 ations, and for publication in the local verna- 

 cular press. The Secretary of the Agricultural 

 Society here might endeavour to get a copy of 

 this in English in order that if the disease 

 appears in Ceylon it could at once be issued 

 broadcast in the vernacular. — Ed.] 



Tti6 Report of Dr. Butler, Imperial Mycolo- 

 gist, on the coconut palm disease in Travancore, 

 dibcloses a situation that gives considerable 

 cause for alarm. Though unable to ascertain the 

 total area affected, the trouble, in Dr. Butler's 

 opinion, is confined to North Travancore, and 

 the extent of the damage already caused may 

 perhaps be gauged, he thinks, by the fact that, 

 in spite of the rise in prices in recent years, the 

 trade in coconut produce accounted only for 32 per 

 cent, of the entire exports from the Travancore 

 State in 1905-06, against an average for decades 

 past of nearly 50 per cent. Besides the coconut, 

 other palms, such as the talipot, sago and areca, 

 are also affected, especially the last mentioned. 

 The chief danger lies in the fact that the dis- 

 ease is undoubtedly infectious, and there ap- 

 pears to be no reason why, if neglected, it 

 should not eventually spread all along the 

 Malabar Coast, The intensity of the disease 

 differs in different localities. In the submon- 

 tane area around Minachil death is a fre- 

 quent termination. In Alleppey and Changa- 

 nachery deaths are rare. In the former, the 

 attack first began in areca palms and subse- 

 quently extended to coconuts. It spread most 

 rapidly and it still most severe in the low-lying, 

 badly-drained lands along the valley of the Mi- 

 nachil River. Gradually the hill-side gardens 

 were attacked, until at the present time scarcely 

 a garden between Erattupetta and Pulliyanure 

 is free from the disease. In areca palms it 

 runs its course more rapidly than in other 

 species. In one garden visited, only thirty 

 areca palms had survived out of six hundred. 

 Death has been known to occur in three year* 



