DHARMAPURI: Tribal residents of Pikli and Malaiyur, who make a living by plucking custard apples that from trees inside the forests, are disappointed as they could find less number of fruits because the trees are affected mealy bug pest attack.
Malaiyur and Pili, located over 20 km away from Papparapatti atop a hill, have a large number of custard apple trees. Speaking to TNIE, R Santhi, a resident of Malaiyur, said, “Every year between August and October, the residents in our village forage the custard apple trees which grow in the wild. After collecting the custard apples, we sell them in the local markets in various parts of Dharmapuri. The buyers sell them in other parts of the state like Coimbatore, Chennai, Salem and other areas. These trees naturally grew in an area about 20 hectares and each acre provides about three tonnes of fruit. But this year, the yield is low.”
Another resident, P Venkatachalam, said, “This year we have had an infestation of mealy bugs, which has resulted in the outer layer of the fruit being covered with a thick web. Traders who visited the village refused to buy the fruits. Usually, each house in Malaiyur and Pikli forage up to 20 baskets each (sold at Rs 20 to Rs 150 per kg), but this year we were not able to even get 10 baskets. Most of the fruits affected by the insects died before ripening. Since these trees do not belong to any particular individual, we have no way of claiming compensation.”
Officials from the horticulture department said, “In Dharmapuri, the mealy bug infestation is contained, only very little pockets of infestation remain, which wouldn’t be an issue when the Northeast monsoon begins. We would look into the issue.”