3-i-: 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



NOVI'.MBEU 1, r.)19. 



CULTIVATION OF THE COCO-NUT 



IN TRAVANCORE 



' ItevAVriksli.im ' (the tree oi heaven) is tUe name which 

 l);i?i Ivou .'isciibed to the coconut palm in ancient In<lian 

 i.it ature, and according lo Dr. K. Kun,Va:j j .i: .:, in[m;:or of 

 A._'iicultura and Fisb<;riK>i. Trawancore, well does il deserve 

 lint nime iti India. e.i*pcci*)ly in Travancure There the 



•cr^;onut tree is the principal Miurcu of tinai)i;i;il wealth 'nd 

 revenue, Hnd it supplier also many, if uol nuarly all. uf the 

 domestic rHvimtemenif '1 the peoplv. 



In a country where the coco-nut palm is of such great 

 economii- importance, one might eatily expect to find a 

 propurtionat* iraount. of interest taken in its lukivation 



Tfc inks t<:> the work of the Agricultmal Department directed 



••by Dr. PIIIl iuch interest has been evoked, and some of the 

 pr.'ctices foil, wed in regard to the palm culture there are 

 ■Worthy of tie carefdl notice of coco-nui planters in other 



J)arcs of the world. 



A full account of the induslry tn Travancore will be 

 fonnd in the As,riculfural Journal of India, Vol. XIV, Part 4, 

 in a paper by Dr. Hillai. read at the Fifth Indian Science 

 Congres;-, l,ahore, 1918 



^Ac'-irding to this paper, among the varieties of coco-nut 



•met with in Travancore. as tnany as forty have been counted. 

 Thoy diifer front one another in various ways, including 

 thioktess of thri kernel, oii-ontent. and period of maturity 

 of the palm. Under normal conditions, it is said, .some 

 •varieties beijiti to hear in ttiree or four year.s, and others 

 ivi seven to eight year.s, ami on this liistinction the coco-nuts 

 can be classified as eirly and late varieties. The life 



■of early v? 'ties is not more than twenty to twer.oy-five 

 years, whiu, the late varieties may live up to 100 years 

 or more. The ideal variety, as Dr. I'illai points out, is 

 the tree which has t'le longest life, which produces 

 mtdium sized nnts having a thiu fibrous covering, thick 

 kernel, and high oil-con'.ent. Active steps have been taken 

 to increase the di.-<tribution of straitw having these charac- 

 tetl'<'ics. 



In Travancore, seed nuts are usually collected front 

 middle-ayed palms. The nuts -^hich ripen in 'he dry niontlis 

 ».r.-- consi'Je.red to be the best for seed. In nar vesting the 

 seed nut^, some cultivators take great care, as they should 

 do. to prevtnt injurita u> th« embryo. Before planting in 

 Bt,ecially prepared nurseries, the seeds are stored for a 



• couple of moDtlis and allowed to lose a considerable pro- 

 |jortion of the niilk insid j. 



The nnts^ germinate in two months, aud are transplanted 



. at one year old. On lowlands, which are .subject to 

 inund£.lions, espwiecx* hat taught the rycts that it is better 

 t<) plant tfto-yearold seedling.-; On laterite .soile, also, where 

 there is trouble from white-auts, it is said to be advisable to 

 plant i-.vo-year-old seedlinj^s only. It rnay Iw pointed out in 

 cocnexiou with this tir-Je for transplanting, that the custom 

 in maay coco-nut countries is to do it earlier, when the 

 Beedli gs are about six months old. It. is usually found that 

 young 83e:5iings establish Jiemstive.-; quirker than old'ir 

 <mf3. l^Jt at any rate it is interestiisg ti leiirn that thti 

 trinsplontinj; cf older .seedlings is •jatiff:i.cto y in Travaxore. 

 On kads Bjbject to water Irj'piu^, lie seeolingi are 

 plmted on rir^gp.s 2 fret above the water icv:!. On cle ated 

 liinds v/hers tue soil is incUued to bti ha'd, tie teedlinj \ are 

 planted in pets ai> big es 4 cubic ft et, of \/hich 2 fc t arc 

 filled \Ti:h sur'a-ift s- il and mai.uic. 



In Tf t' a..-.c<-rn it is Invi'riably (he custom lo grow 

 catch-cror.b v;\\\ ;. oyng o-co imt pahns. li' plants like 

 catsava and banana firo grov:L, they should always be 



manured; Rrfen d -saings, on th? oth^^ hand, do not 

 demand manuring. 



In general the cultivators in Travancore have cc-n.^iu 

 \v,ill-mai ked practicrs wljch nay b» bi iv3y but comprehensive- 

 ly stated as tolic-srs : (U addition of sik to SRudy soils ■.u^\ 

 icuw io r.;v; . .;:;:i ij c':;r.-..'t. i-Uo pbyaioiil lieJecls of Iha 

 soil; (2) the terra';ing of slo'yes to p'-event surfaca washing; 

 (8 )c*irefil collection and selection of sted nuts; (i) application 

 of af-b and i;omiaon salt to the soil bafors transplnnting, to 

 prevent atticks by white-a-.^ts : (5) -:.iitt'.ng of twoytarold 

 seedlings on lane's ■subject to inunvistio-, and on hilly land 

 where there is whito-aut trouble ; (6i the caltivatio-j of 

 catch-crops for the first four oi- five years ; (7) npolicati-oa 

 of ash and < omuion salt to the crovni of tb^ palm as a ore- 

 v.ntive agaiast tho attack of beelles ; (S) and lasJ, but 

 tiot least, the p.-a( iice of niakiug beds around the palms in 

 June, and of filling them up aud diirging the whole ground 

 in December in onier to col'ecL and cou.serve as much as 

 possible the r.i:n-WdLer, and utilize! it to the maximum bcaefit 

 of the plantbtioti. 



Thfl coco-rjut palm, wo know, ev3ry.\here reqr.ires a 

 well-drained and (iglit- textured soil. Ejt it also r-'q.iires 

 water, and, as well, piant food. The coco nut cultivations 

 in Travancore sullei- ooij.?j>5erab!y from lack of mineral fo-od. 

 Owing to the expec;5e and .scarcity of cheuiical rr-inures 

 Dr Pillai has invented a mixture composed of locally produced 

 ingredients as a substilute, acid this is as follows : oil cike 

 10 ft)., ash (cua-,posliIon not stated) 20 lb., fish rc'use 2 lb, 

 common salt 1 lb., pir.tree. 



Such a mitt-ve, which has the following composition, 

 X. 53 percent., phosphoric acid TOl per cent, potash 

 0-74 per cei.i,, c-.'ii!d be easily produced ia the West 

 Indies and other parts of the tropics. The average 

 atiuual yield of \\\z trees in Travancore is stated to woik 

 out at only abcui thirty nats ; but there is definite 

 evidence to show a" ready tliat maaurial trotmtnt will ciuse 

 this producli'n null. bar to be doubled. The ueei cf laatiur- 

 ing, therefore, ia cue of tho chief things r.-;quiring attentioa 

 at the present time ia connexion with Travancore coco-nuts. 



There ia one point in tbcio Indian practices referred to 

 above which calls for comment, and that is the iniplisd con- 

 tention amongst the growers, that cociiiioa !;r.;t is necessary 

 for the sarisfaf'M.ry growth of the coco-nut. In fact. 

 Dr. I'illai himsoif pays, ' Near the coa.st, whne there is the 

 possibil-y of the subsoil being infiltrated with bracki.sh 

 water, the applicavioa-of common siltcaa be dispensed with ; 

 but in other places «V /.f imiispcns^abU! [Italics arc ours.] 

 This statement is in direct opposit'on to the opinion cf 

 Dr. Copelari.d, in the Phillpiiines, ar.l of other people well 

 familiar with the; requirements of tho coco-nut palm. 



THE dou:;las fir, or oeeg-on pine. 



TliH foUow.'i;^; particulars in craiicsion with *h;e. trse, 

 IroDi which tho nt ^' j'iant fla^siall' in courat of erocf.ion at tho 

 Koyal Botf.nic Gti-.icns, Kow, rcfe;red to ia tho Xa.y, i..;,i.e of 

 the Agn'oi/lu.'-a/ Navs, is iviaiie, r.ro published in a recent 

 iasui) of Tfie J'icUl : — 



'The r)oU;;las fir. or Oregon pi".io {Al'ks D:Ug!iisil) is the 

 most imp irtaot '.i»l)i.;r tree in Noub .'.mffi/ca. It is founi 

 from North BiIti.iL Columbia to MckIc:., of'.en occ>iniiij in 

 pure f jre.st.s over viv,', aveas, " No other tree ccn;biiies such 

 great individual si '.r-.s, such excellence of quality, or such 

 vastness of qnartiry over so wide a r»of;a." It rsnohr.-i its 

 uiaxi>nuui devi.'lo;/.nent in Southern Riitish Colunibi.i, T-htro 

 its hiiight in frctri 1.^0 feet lo 250 ftct, with a diameter from 



