Vol. IVIIl. No. 442. 



THE AQEICULTURAL NEWS. 



109 



CASSAVA EXPERIMENTS IN TRINIDAD. 



Cousidering the importauce of cassava as a food 

 crop, the following account of experiments at the 

 Government Farm, St. Augustine, in Trinidad^ is sure 

 to be of interest and value to planters of this crop in 

 other places. The account is reproduced from the 

 Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, Trini- 

 dad and Tobago, Vol. XVII, part 4, 1918 :— 



Considerable attention was directed to cassava cultiva- 

 tion in the colony in 1914 and 191-5. In the former year 

 the Careenage factory was opened for the preparation of 

 cassava starch, and in the latter Mr. Vyvyan Board erected a 

 temporary plant for the manufacture of cassava flour at 

 Palmiste estate, having arranged with Sir Norman Lamont 

 and Tennants Estates, Ltd., for the cultivation of the 

 necessary acreage. The Board of Agriculture paid a visit to 

 Palmiste in .January 191-5 to inspect the factory, and later 

 in the day held a meeting at San Fernando, when the possi- 

 bilities of a cassava industry were fully discussed. 



In the course of this discussion it was pointed out that 

 there was much to be learnt regarding the yield of cassava 

 in Trinidad. No interest had been taken in it up to that 

 time as a main crop, but judging by the results in other 

 countries, a yield of 8 tons of roots per acre was a reasonable 

 expectation. To secure this, however, experiments were 

 necessary to ascertain the yields of varieties, the best 

 distance to plant, when to plant, and when to reap, includ- 

 ing under the latter no' only the season of the year, but also 

 the age at which the crop should be dug. 



The early results were very disappointing, the yield 

 per acre being low. Mr. Eoanl left for active service, and 

 the experimental factory was closed down. It is to be 

 hoped, however, that the industry may] be revived, and the 

 Department has employed the waitmg period in carrying on 

 experiments to furnish information on the vital points referred 

 to above. In this report Mr. de Verteuil shows that there is, 

 as was anticipated, a large variation in the yield of local 

 varieties, but that the 8 tons of roots per acre is obtainable 

 from the better varieties. Of special interest are the records 

 of yield of roots and starch per acre from plants of 

 known age, fronn which the conclusions are drawn that, 

 under the conditions at St Augustine, the maximum return 

 per acre is obtained by reaping cassava during the dry 

 season, and apparently when not less than sixteen to seven- 

 teen months of age. 



Experiments on the cultivation of cassava were started 

 in 1914 at the St. Augustine Experiment Station, with the 

 objects of ascertaining {a) the best local varieties, (/>) the 

 most suitable planting distance, (o) the best part of the 

 sticks to select for planting, and (d) the best method of 

 planting, i.e. on the flat, on banks, or in forked holes. 

 This report deals with results obtained during 1917 and 1918. 

 In addition to the above, two other items were included in 

 the 1916-18 experiments with the object of ascertaining 

 {a) the best planting season, and {/>) the best age and time 

 for reaping cassava. 



It might be mentioned that in 1914 and 191.5 attempts 

 were also made for testing the suitability of planting cassava 

 with other crops, such as corn, cotton^ pigeon peas, and canes. 

 In every case the result was a failure. Not only the yield of 

 the cassava was poor, but the other crops either died back or 

 gave very poor returns. 



When the experiments were started in 1914, difficulty was 

 experienced in obtaining reliable information from planters, 

 large or sinall, with respect to theyield of varieties. In Trinidad, 



cassava is not grown as a separate crop, but usually as a catch 

 crop in young cacao plantations as temporary shade, or in 

 gardens of mixed cultivation. Very little information was ob- 

 tained with regard to the yield per acre, the only information 

 vouchsafed being that it was a good bearing variety — compara- 

 tively of course— as of the several varieties tried only one 

 gave over 5 tons of roots per acre. 



Out of fifteen varieties planted in 191(5 and 1917 eight 

 have given an average yield of over 5 tons of roots per acre. 

 They were planted at a distance of SJfeet by 3 feet'about May, 

 and reaped in September of the following year, being approxi- 

 mately sixteen months old. The results obtained are aa 

 follows: — 



Another variety. No. 15, gave 4-98 tons of roots per acre. 

 Variety 'Sellier' is undoubtedly the best local variety so far 

 obtained, individual plots of this variety having on three 

 occasions given over 10 tons of roots per acre. 



The results have been obtained without the aid of 

 manures, and as it ha.s been possible so far to detect the best 

 yielding varieties under natural conditions, it is probable that 

 better results will be obtained when artificial manures are 

 available at a reasonable price. 



Four varieties were planted at distances of 4 feet by 

 i feet, .3 feet by 3 feet, and 2| feet by 2i feet, respectively. 

 Generally speaking, therefore, the highest yield has been 

 obtained from plots planted 3 feet apart, but it has been 

 observed that both Sellier and Maman I'enfant often give 

 better results when planted 4 feet apart. 



Sticks were taken as is usually done for obtaining plants. 

 One or two plants were cut ofif from either end according to 

 the length of the sticks— these would be the 'top' and 

 bottom' plants re.spectively — the remaining portion being 

 called the middle' or 'centre' plants. Two varieties were 

 selected for the experiment, and the sticks planted at 

 distances of 3 feet by 3 feet. In both cases 'the tops' 

 gave the lowest yield, which confirms results previously 

 obtained, namely that the younger or less mature 

 portions of the stick are less suitable for planting purposes 

 than the older portions- Similarly, the 'bottom' plants 

 gave a slighfy lower yield than the 'centre' plants, but the 

 difference is not so mirked. Nevertheless, the results clearly 

 show that in order to obtain the best yield from a given 

 variety, care should be exercised in selecting the sticks for 

 planting, by rejecting the young and very old parts. 



Experiments for comparing the relative merits of plant- 

 ing {a) on the flat, (/.-) on banks, and (tr) in forked holes 2 feet 

 square were carried out. 



The results show that two of the varieties gave a larger 

 yield when planted on the flat, whereas one variety gave its 

 highest yield on banks, and the fourth in holes. Taken 

 together, the average yield of these four varieties was 6-64, 

 6-27, and 624 tons of roots per acre for the plantings on the 

 flat, banks, and holes, respectively. It may be pointed out tha 

 the soil at St. Augustine is of a naturally loose and friable 

 nature, and that possibly on heavier soils higher returns 

 may be obtained from banks and holes than from plantings 

 on the flat. Nevertheless, should this be obtained, it is not 

 probable that the increase yield would justify the extra ooal 

 of banking and holing, and therefore planting on the fl*t Ut 

 generally recommended. 



( To U continuid.) 



