Diseased palm removals as a strategy for the successful managementof Weligama coconut leaf wilt phytoplasma disease of coconut in SriLanka

Weligama coconut leaf wilt disease is a seriously debilitating disease affecting coconut in the Southern province of Sri Lanka since 2006. It has been declared as a quarantine disease and the Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka identified removal of the diseased palms as the strategy to stop the further spread of the disease to the unaffected areas. Therefore, the diseased palms identification and removal program is in progress since 2008 in this area. Under this program 339,271 diseased palms have been removed. Because of this management strategy the disease is to date confined only to the Galle, Matara and Hambanthota districts in the Southern part of the country. After minimizing the disease pressure of the area, re-planting coconut with resistant varieties was identified as the viable long-term solution to combat the disease.