supari palms shedding young buttons and the flower bunch tips drying in Dakshina Kannada
How to manage arecanut inflorescence dieback and button shedding?
SSharath Hegde8mo ago · 299 views
6 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓8mo ago
Inflorescence dieback and heavy button shedding in arecanut come from a mix of moisture stress, nutrient imbalance, poor pollination and fungal infection of the spadix, often in dry spells after flowering. Keep even soil moisture through the critical flowering and nut set period since alternate drying and wetting worsens shedding. Maintain balanced nutrition, do not over apply nitrogen alone, and ensure good drainage in the monsoon. Some shedding is natural, but if the bunch tips are drying with rot it may be a fungal spadix problem needing a recommended spray. For the fungicide and dose and timing, and a leaf or soil test based nutrient plan, follow your KVK and the local arecanut research station advice.
RRamachandra Bhat7mo ago
Keeping the watering even through flowering and nut set cut my shedding. Earlier the palms went dry then got a heavy watering, and the buttons dropped after that swing. Steady moisture is the main thing.
GGanesh Shenoy7mo ago
A bit of button drop is natural, do not panic over every fallen one. But when the bunch tips were drying with rot I had to spray, and the KVK guided the product and timing. The drying rotting tips are the real warning sign.
SSudhakar Rai7mo ago
I got a leaf and soil test done and fixed the nutrition instead of just dumping nitrogen. The balanced feeding held more nuts on. Over feeding only nitrogen had given me lush palms but poor set.
VVasudeva Hegde7mo ago
In the monsoon I make sure the water drains off and does not stand around the palm base, the waterlogged ones shed worse and the roots suffered. Good drainage in the rains and steady water in the dry spell, the palm hates both extremes. That swing was half my problem.
KKrishna Bhat7mo ago
When the spadix tips were drying with a rot I sprayed on the research station advice and timed it to the flowering, that saved the later bunches. Do not wait till the whole bunch is gone. The arecanut research station near us was more useful than guessing at the shop.