Bud Rot Outbreak Hits Coconut Palms in Tiptur Taluk of Karnataka's Tumakuru District

21 October 2026National

An outbreak of Bud Rot, a fatal coconut palm disease caused by the pathogen *Phytophthora palmivora*, has struck Tiptur taluk of Tumakuru district, Karnataka, affecting villages including Mattihalli, Hosahalli and Halkurike and parts of the Nonavinakere and Kasaba hoblis. The disease rots the terminal bud and surrounding tissue; once the growing point is destroyed the palm cannot recover and must be removed. Palms of all ages are susceptible, but young palms are the most vulnerable, and the infection spreads fastest in the high humidity of the monsoon. Tumakuru is one of Karnataka's biggest coconut-growing districts and Tiptur is a major copra trading centre.

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India is the world's largest coconut producer, with Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh the leading states | The Coconut Development Board was set up in 1981 and is headquartered at Kochi, Kerala | Phytophthora palmivora is an oomycete or water mould and also causes black pod disease in cocoa

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