Colombo, August 2 (Daily Mirror) - More than 300,000 'Encarsia Guadeloupe' parasites were introduced by the Agriculture Department this year to control the spread of whitefly in coconut and king coconut plantations, the Coconut Cultivation Board said.

The Agriculture Department reported that whitefly damage to coconut plantations is currently being observed in several areas. However, due to rain in the Western Province and some other areas, this damage has decreased somewhat.

Whiteflies are more attracted to the yellow color, causing more damage to king coconut plantations than to regular coconut plantations. So far, 1,051,323 coconut and king coconut trees affected by whitefly have been treated.

Whitefly damage has significantly reduced coconut yield, leading to a large decrease last year. To address this issue, the Coconut Cultivation Board has provided 700 liquid spray machines for applying coconut oil extract and conducted 3,046 awareness programs for coconut growers.

In 2024, the plan is to distribute two million coconut saplings to farmers. So far, 800,000 coconut saplings have been distributed. Additionally, 11,401 king coconut saplings have been given to growers, and 23,233 king coconut seeds have been planted in nurseries to obtain more saplings.