28 



ENEMIES. 



The enemies and accidents to which abaca is subject are but few. The 

 damage done is usually slight and comparatively easy to correct. 



Severe winds, which strip and tear the leaves of the plant, will retard 

 its development, and a typhoon may do a great amount of damage. The 

 selection of a protected location and the planting of trees for wind-breaks 

 will, in all ordinary cases, overcome this diflSculty. 



Extreme drought is another unfavorable climatic condition. A long 

 dry season seldom occurs in the localities where abaca is most largely 

 cultivated, and the effects of dry weather are in a measure overcome by 

 the use of shade trees. Abaca should not be planted in the provinces 

 where the distribution of rainfall is not fairly even, unless some means 

 of irrigation are available. 



Wild pigs, deer, and carabaos occasionally do some damage, and it is 

 usually necessary to fence a plantation. Locusts and ants are not to 

 be feared. The larvae of two insects, known locally as "tamilos" and 

 "amasog,'' sometimes attack abaca. The first of these is about 4 centi- 

 meters long and has a body divided into twelve segments, a soft, white 

 skin, a head of a dark red color, and strong mandibles. The latter is 

 about 1-| centimeters long with a body of uniform dimensions and white 

 in color. When a plant is affected, a relatively large hole is found in 

 the trunk and the leaves turn yellow. Such a plant should be im- 

 mediately removed ahd burned. Fortunately but few plants suffer from 

 these insects and the total injury which they do is insignificant. 



HARVESTING. 



The first stalks will be ready for cutting at from twenty months to 

 three years after planting. The time required for development varies 

 considerably with different varieties and in different localities. After 

 the first harvest it is customary to cut over a plantation every six to 

 eight months. 



The abaca plant when mature consists of a group or a cluster of from 

 twelve to thirty or more stalks, all growing from the one root. These 

 stalks are in all stages of development, but usually two or three will 

 mature and can be cut at the same time. The stalk is ready for cutting 

 at the time of the appearance of the flower or shortly before. When the 

 plant is in flower the large violet-colored flower bracts fall to the ground, 

 making it an easy matter when passing through the field to select the 

 plants which are ready for cutting. 



The stalk is cut with a bolo or knife having a sharp blade. This 

 cutting should be made 5 to 7 centimeters from the crown of the 

 root and on a slant. If a perfectly horizontal cut is made, water will 

 collect on the stump, causing it to rot and thus injuring the root and 

 remaining shoots. 



