206 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



JvNE 26, 1909.. 



GROUND NUT TRIALS IN THE 



WEST INDIES. 



llecoijnizing that ground nuts might possibly 

 become a valuable sourec of profit to small holders,' 

 nnd others in the Wust Indies, the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture has made several efforts to 

 encourage their cultivation on a more extended scale 

 in many of the islands. These eftorts have included 

 the introduction and trial of a number of new varieties 

 of nuts from the United States. 



In 1907-S, .seed nuts of two new varietie.s, 'Dixie Giant ' 

 (a nut remarkable for its large size), and ' Tennessee lied, ' 

 both (if wliii-li ajipeared to be promising for West Indian 

 conditions, were imported, and trial plantings were made at 

 the Botanic or Experiment Station.s in St. Vincent, St. 

 Lucia, Dominica, ^lontserrat, Antigua, and St. Kitt's-Nevis. 

 Unfortunately, however, the results — speaking generally- — 

 ■were not so good as were hoped for. 



In the trials made at St. Vincent in 1907, 'Dixie 

 Giant ' gave a return at the rate of no more than .5 cwt. per 

 acre, although sown in rich well-manured land. The plants 

 ■were slightly attacked by a rust fungus. The few seeds of. 

 ' Tennessee Red ' that were available germinated badly and 

 died out. 



At St. Lucia, in the same year, a trial was made with 

 the ' Dixie Giant ' ground nut, and 40 pints of nuts were 

 obtained from Sj pints of seed. The nuts were harvested 

 in December, but many of thein gerniinated before they vi'ere 

 ripe. This indicates that planting .should be done at a time 

 to throw the ripening period into the dry sea.son — between 

 Tebruar}' and ^lay. 



At Dominica, where large areas of soil suitable for the 

 cultivation of this crop exist, the two varieties under trial 

 in 1907 gave somewhat better results than in .some of the 

 other islands. The ' Dixie Giant ' nuts, ■vvhich were planted 

 early in September, took seventeen weeks to mature, and 

 6^ tt). of cured nuts were obtained from 2i lb. of seed. In 

 the case of 'Tennessee Red,' 3 oz. of seed yielded 1 lb. 3 oz. 

 of nuts. Neither variety was attacked by any pest or 

 disease. 



At Montserrat, in the case of ' Dixie Giant," only i Bj. 

 of nuts were obtained from -}, 11). of seed. Moreover, many 

 of the nuts contained shrivelled kernels. 'Tennessee Red' 

 <Jid somewhat better. 



I'air results were obtaineil at Antigua with both the 

 imported kinds in 1907. It is believed, however, that the 

 land was unsuitable, being too heavy for the crop. The 

 foliage of the jilants was nuich attacked by caterpillars. 



At St. Kitt's, the ground nut plants grew well, and 

 developed a large amount of foliage. Unsatisfactory weather, 

 however, interfered v/ith the proper maturing nf the produce. 



The experimer)ts with ground inits were contimied 

 ill 1 DOS at the same ei'ntres. In addition to the 

 ' J)ixio (Jiaiit ' and ' Tennessee Red,' two other kinds, 

 viz., ' Spanish ' and ' Carolina Running,' both imported 

 from the United States, were inchided in tlie trials. 

 The ' Spanish ' is a very small nut, but one that 

 in the United States is very popular, both among 

 growers, and on the market. It grows well on poor 

 soil, and takes but a comparatively short time to 

 mature its produce. The plants are of an erect habit. 

 ' Carolina Running ' is reported to be a prolific bearer 

 in the States, and yields nuts of a fairly large size. 



At St. Lucia the four kinds of nuts were planted in 

 October 1908, but the results proved disajjpointing. ' Caro- 

 lina Running ' was the only variety which gernunated well 

 and produced a crop which was harvested on February 11, 

 1909. The yield was at the rate of 504 Ifx per acre. 



The report on the trials made at Dominica states that 

 the soil on which the ground nuts were grown, was carefully 

 prepared beforehand. With the exception of the plot oa 

 which the ' Dixie (Hant ' nuts ■were planted, the .soil was 

 very light and fine in texture, which oft'ers the most favour- 

 able conditions for this crop. The land planted with ' Dixie 

 ( tiant ' nuts was of a compaiatively heavy nature, and this, 

 no doubt, had a detrimental effect upon the yield of nuts 

 obtained. 



All the four kinds of nuts were sown in July. The 

 ' Spanish, ' ' (Jarolina Running, ' and ' Tenne.s.see Red ' varie- 

 ties were reaped towards the end of November, while the 

 ' Dixie Giant ' nuts did not mature till about a fortnight 

 later. The 'Spanish' variety did best, .showing a yield at 

 the rate 9f 1,940 lb. per acre. This was followed, in the 

 order named, by 'Carolina Running' (1,137 lb. per acre), 

 ' Tennes.see Red" (4.59 lb. per acre), and 'Dixie Grant"' 

 (33.5 Ifj.). It is mentioned that the small nuts of the Spanish" 

 variety sell in Dominica much more readily than those ot 

 larger kinds. 



At Montserrat the four kinds of nuts were planted on 

 .June 26 and reaped in the last week of October, so that only- 

 four nninths were occupied in corning to maturity. This was 

 jirobably owing to the dry •weather that was experienced; 

 tluring the season. The yields were poor, 'Carolina Running' 

 giving the highest return, which was at the rate of 889 lb. 

 per acre. ' Tennessee Red ' yielded at the rate of 400 lb., 

 and ' Spanish ' at the rate of 364 lb. per acre. ' Dixie Giant ' 

 failed to germinate at all. 



At Antigua, plots were planted with each of the four'^ 

 varieties. ' Dixie (Jiant ' gave the best return — at the 

 rate of 960 Iti. per acre. ' Carolina Running " yielded at 

 the rate of 640 It)., ' Spani.sh ' 440 Iti., and 'Tennessee Red '' 

 400 lb. per aci-e. It is mentioned tliat in the.se experiments, 

 the plants of the 'Carolina Running' variety covered the 

 ground much better than any of the others. 



Mr. Shepherd has sent in a report on the ground nut 

 trials made at St. Kitt's in 1908. The .same four kinds of 

 nuts were planted as in the other islands to which reference 

 has already been made. It is unfortunate, however, tltat the- 

 varieties, ' Spanish, ' aud ' Tennessee Red ' were severely 

 attacked by a fungus, and as a result only a poor crop of 

 nuts was harvested, the yield being at the rate of about 

 ."100 111. ]ior acre. In the case of ' Dixie Giant, ' the nuts 

 |)lanted showed very poor germination, and rotted in the 

 gi-ound as if attacked by a fungous disease, although they 

 apjieared to be soinid at the time of planting. Much better 

 lesults were obtained with the ' Carolina Running' variety. 

 The seed nuts showed good germinating power, and the 

 ground was soon well covered by the vines. The nuts took from 

 live to six months to mature, and gave a yield of nearly 

 1,.500 lb. per acre. A local variety of groinid nut [ilanted 

 for purposes of comparison, showed a crop return at the rate 

 of about 2,000 lb. per acre. 



Mr. Shepherd ])oints out that in the exiieriments made 

 at St. Kitt's, none of the imported varieties have yielded 

 a return superior to that given by the local nut, but adds 

 that some of the new kinds evidently possess certain very 

 desirable characteristics not found in the local variety. It is 



