“Nearly five to ten per cent of trees have become non-productive due to old age or pest infestations in Pollachi. These trees can be removed and replaced to boost production, but new saplings may take up to 5 years to begin yielding. However, trees planted within existing groves grow more slowly due to limited sunlight, which can delay their productivity by an additional year,” said P Appukutty, president of Tender Coconut Growers Association, Pollachi.

Over the years, coconut production in the Pollachi region has dropped sharply by 40 to 60 per cent, primarily due to white fly infestations and root wilt disease. The crisis is not unique to Pollachi; it has spread across Tamil Nadu and into other major coconut-producing countries, including Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Farmers in Pollachi are still recovering from the impact of the whitefly attack, which typically intensifies from September and eases as temperatures rise. “Prices of coconuts are expected to moderate slightly as yields improve from February to May.

Pollachi, a key hub for coconut production in Tamil Nadu, sees each tree yield up to 125 nuts, though output can vary depending on the severity of pest attacks,” said S Arumugam, a coconut farmer in the Kinathukadavu area near Pollachi.