Protecting Sri Lanka’s Coconuts from White Flies


A smart student from Kurunegala Defence Services College found a great way to stop white flies from hurting Sri Lanka’s coconut trees. Thushara Sewwandi Basnayake, who is in 11th grade, made a trap that works really well. She even won gold medals in contests for making such a clever thing.

Her trap tricks the white flies by using what they like: the color yellow and the smell of coconut trees. Basnayake made something that smells like the tree and looks yellow to attract the pests.

She figured out that these flies are most active from 3 to 4 in the morning. So, she made her trap even smarter by adding solar lights. These lights shine on a sticky sheet with a special substance. When the flies come buzzing around, they get stuck.

This cool idea could help stop these flies from causing big problems for Sri Lanka’s coconut farms. It’s a good solution because it doesn’t use harmful chemicals that hurt the environment. It might make things better for the country’s coconut industry in the long run.

People have noticed how awesome Basnayake’s invention is. She got gold medals in competitions because of how smart and creative her trap is.