MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, EGYPT. 



Bulletin No. 26. 



THE OUTBREAK OF 

 PSEUDOCOCCUS SACCHARI, Ckll., 

 ON THE SUGAR CANE OF EGYPT. 



The sugar cane cultivation of Egypt dates back to 1848, in which 

 year Ibrahim Pasha introduced a red variety from Jamaica : the 

 variety now known as " Baladi." The experiment met with such 

 success that a factory was built at Roda in 1855 to extract the sugar 

 from the cane, and so profitable did it prove that the area under sugar 

 cane increased yearly. Sugar cane is now one of the major crops of 

 Egypt and the old Roda factory has long since been replaced by six or 

 seven others of more modern type situated at intervals throughout 

 Upper Egypt. The sugar production of Egypt at the present time is 

 practically a monopoly of the Societe Generale des Sucreries et Raffi- 

 nerie d'Egypte and all the factories with one exception belong to 

 them. 



In 1903, owing to the low market price of sugar, the low production 

 of " Baladi " cane, and the high prices obtained by other crops, it was 

 realized that unless a higher producing cane was found the future of 

 sugar production in Egypt was doomed. Accordingly M. Henri Naus 

 Bey of the Sugar Company visited Java, Borneo, Hawaii, etc., and 

 brought back 128 selected varieties of sugar cane. Amongst these was 

 found a variety called " Java 105 " which possessed the necessary 

 characteristics for revitalizing the industry. 



It might be as well here to compare " Baladi " and " 105," the 

 two varieties almost exclusively grown in Egypt to-day. 



Although " 105 " cane contains a slightly lower sugar percentage 

 -12-5 to 13 as against 13-5 to 14 and a slightly lower degree of purity, 

 it has the characteristic of giving a much higher yield of cane per 

 feddan than the " Baladi." In the first year it produces about 200 

 qantars per feddan* more cane and whereas in the second year the yield 

 per feddan only falls off by 100-150 qantars, in the case of "Baladi " 



44-'J28 kiloB. = 9',)-0:> Ibs. 

 1 feddan = 4,200-833 square metres = 5,024-17 square yards = 1-038 acres. 



