Gaurav Pundir, Golf Superintendent receiving the award for Tollygunge Club during a virtual ceremony in Jan. 22
Gaurav Pundir, Golf Superintendent at Kolkata’s Tollygunge Club, who has successfully treated fungal infection in neem trees on the club premises, is now keen to help Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) save a number of essential trees such as neem, which have also been affected by dieback disease.
Speaking to TOI, Pundir said, “two neem trees in the gravel area near the clubhouse were infected two years ago during the COVID outbreak. The leaves were turning yellow or brown and wilting. There were dark and sunken areas on stems and branches, loosening of the bark and browning of the wood on dying branches. They were typical signs of fungal infection, not insect attack. I dug up a pit around the base of the trees and filled it with fungicide mixed with water and sprayed the solution on the tree trunks. This healed the infection. Fresh leaves sprouted the following year.”
The fungicide used was copper oxychloride Cu2(OH)3Cl, a chemical he had earlier used at the golf clubs in Mumbai and Delhi prior to joining Tollygunge in Kolkata. Pundir told TOI that he would be more than glad to help horticulturists at KMC to undertake a similar treatment.
Some environmental activists have already started using his treatment to save trees in the city.