100 COCONUT PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



slag, making it very suitable for acid soils. It has been very successfully em- 

 ployed for tea and rubber. For coconuts there is no reason why it should 

 not be equally valuab'e especially on estates where green manuring is carried 

 out systematically. It cannot be used in mixtures containing blood meal 

 or ammonia salts, unless added just before application. 



I have not gone into the details of various mixtures suitable for manures, 

 as so much depends on the soil, local climatic conditions and the condition 

 of the palms, when manuring is to be undertaken. Manuring may not 

 always be necessary, and in some cases would be distinctly wasteful unless 

 efficient drainage and cultivation of tne soil is done prior to the application. 



The main points to be borne in mind when manuring coconuts are 

 first to apply a manure suitable to the soil requirements, and of a compo- 

 sition that will encourage a healthy and vigorous leaf and root development. 

 Then when this is accomplished to apply a manure richer in potash and 

 phosphoric acid to further encourage fruit production and of a superior quality. 

 Thirdly to apply the manure at sufficiently short intervals to insure con- 

 tinuous growth and minimise the effect of drought on yield and quality of 

 the nut. Samples of copra from manured and unmanured palms have been 

 shown me which clearly demonstrate the beneficial effects of manure on the 

 appearance and thickness of the meat and no doubt oil contents. 



No trees respond more to proper manuring than the coconut palm, 

 especially in the younger stages, but even palms of 70 to 80 years of age 

 will respond as shown by the result of the Peradeniya experiments which 

 have now been conducted for three and half years. 



The chief difficulty to be overcome in the improvement of such old 

 palms, of which there must be many thousands of acres in Ceylon, ia to 

 enable them to retain the large proportion of nuts, which form as the 

 result of the manuring or cultivation, but which fall at all stages from an 

 inch in diameter to nearly half-grown, but chiefly in the younger stages. 

 The average yield of ripe nuts from the manured and unmanured plots when 

 the experiments began were : — 



1911 

 Manured ... ... 26'8 



Unmanured .... ... -27-4 



while the immature nuts were for the same period : — 



1911 

 Manured ... ... 23'5 



Unmanured ... ... 36'3 



Had it been possible for the palms to retain these nuts, or even half of them, 

 the result would have been very satisfactory. It is probable that careful 

 supporting of the flowering stalks would have saved many. 



An encouraging feature in these experiments, especially for the smaller 

 cultivators who cannot easily afford expensive manures, is that ploughing 

 pr digging or the growth of leguminous plants with the aid of the 



